《Ascension of the elder》


 1 Chapter 1 An end or a beginning?

    Joseph was just an unknown and faceless working class body. He left school with a few qualifications and then onto college where he gained a little knowledge and some scraps of paper, but unfortunately he could never find a job he wanted to do, so he took a general vacancy in a mid level company just "to tide me over until something better comes along". However nothing better ever seemed to be on the horizon and as the years passed he saw people come and go, some left, some got promoted, others got married and had kids but Joe stayed in the same place always waiting for something to come to him.


    Before he was even aware 40 years had passed and Joe was already in his sixties and was approaching retirement. In this time there had been friends and lovers but they all came and went leaving Joe alone with only the current generation of work colleagues who even knew who he was as his parents had long since passed and he had no siblings.


    In all this time Joe had very little to distinguish him from the crowd, in fact you could say he was average in almost every way. Average height, average build, average looks even his name, you could say he''s an average Joe. The only things that were his own was his slightly above average intelligence which meant he picked up new things faster and more completely than other people around him and his stubbornness. You may have heard the term "as stubborn as a mule", well Joe could be as stubborn as three mules on strike as one of his bosses once said. As people who work in an office can attest stories stick around and the most prominent one about Joe was when he had a shouting match with the CEO of the company because he didn''t agree with how he was treating one of the interns, this quickly snowballed so even though the CEO wanted to sack Joe he couldn''t without causing a lot of the interns, new starters and even some of the middle managers who were taught by Joe when they first started taking up arms. So the CEO could only wait and push Joe for early retirement which Joe was happy to agree to.


    But as with all things, an end must come and as Joe was getting closer and closer to retirement his age began catching up to him. One day as he was clocking in he suddenly felt a pain shoot through his chest, he began gasping for air and everything around him began getting dark. As his point of view was gradually getting smaller and smaller he saw the kids(almost everyone at his company was a kid to him at this point) running to him and with his faltering hearing he could hear shouts and screams but his mind wasn''t functioning clearly at this point and couldn''t make out what the voices were saying. On this day Joe died of an almost simultaneous heart attack and stroke. At his funeral which was paid from his own savings there were a surprising number of people, such a number in fact that if he wasn''t already dead Joe would have another heart attack. There were of course his work colleagues including the interns, the mail room, the people from his department and also some from every other department. But the surprising thing was the rest, almost the entirety of the management attended, people who had left from years ago and even some of the children of those who had left decades ago attended on their behalf. As the CEO who had the argument with Joe all that time ago said during a speech on behalf of the management,


    "I may not have considered Joe a friend but I respected the old man".


    But back to Joe, after his everything went dark and Joe''s mind began to shut down his mind/soul he didn''t know which would be more accurate or correct, began to function again. He couldn''t see per se but somehow he could sense what was around him. He had no body but appeared to be a slightly luminous cloud of gas while all around him was dark with other clouds moving through seemingly unaware and unconcerned. As Joe was analysing what was happening he noticed the clouds further in front of him based on the direction he was gradually moving, began to break down or dissipate.


    Joe couldn''t tell what was happening but as he got closer he began to feel himself becoming less. In a panic Joe observed himself again and saw the his nebulous form had begun to come apart and now this was happening to him he could feel it was a force being exerted on this form, tearing him apart and crushing him all at the same time. As he was becoming less he could feel his memories slipping away. His parents, grandparents, childhood friends, first kiss even his name became dim. At this point Joe realised what was happening, he was dead and this was the afterlife. It wasn''t what he was expecting to say the least, no pearly gates, no fire and brimstone, no yama, no river styx. So Joe began to panic, if his soul is lost will his mind be gone as well which seemed to be the case as it looked like the force was breaking the souls down and wiping the memories from them, with this though Joe''s stubborn side reared it''s ugly head like Jekyll. In his mind(as he didn''t have a mouth at this point) Joe roared with all the rage that only those who have to work a dead end job for years can muster "Oh hell no!!" and with this thought a strange phenomenon happened. Out of the surrounding darkness mist began to appear and coalesce around what was left of our protagonist who by this time had lost his name and a lot of his personal memories but still retained his personality and most of his general knowledge along with some acquired skills and not forgetting his stubbornness which I think we should call willpower as it makes him sound more heroic.


    As the mist was surrounding our MC he could feel the pull and pressure being exerted by the force became less but with this realisation the force came back with twice the power which the MC took as a challenge and exerted more of his willpower and contended with the force pulling in more of the mist.


    As time passed this contest of will continued between the force and the MC increasing in power and ferocity. After an unknown amount of time the force began directly attacking the MC''s soul as it couldn''t break him down by purely exerting pressure. This attack cannot be explained clearly but the MC thought it would be similar to being stuck with hundreds of red hot needles at the same time. So in response the MC pulled in the mist that surrounded him as tightly as possible as he couldn''t attack as he wasn''t able to locate a target. After a while of resisting the attacks from the force the MC found a way to shield himself, he projected a form of energy outside of himself which began to block the attacks. To start with the pain from the attacks gradually became less, until finally he was able to completely block the attack. With this little bit of breathing room he was able to finally think about what was happening and came up with a theory.


    1. He was a soul resisting reincarnation.


    2. What was attacking him was the will of the universe


    3. The mist he was absorbing was the nascent form of souls


    4. The energy he used to protect himself could be termed soul force


    With these thoughts the MC began to worry, if the universe was trying to break him down to return him to the cycle of reincarnation, was he doing the right thing resisting. But he couldn''t just allow himself to give up so he continued resisting while absorbing more of the mist growing stronger by the minute.


    After an unknown amount of time our MC also noticed something else which confused him. While he was using soul force to resist the attacks his soul which was absorbing the soul mist wasn''t losing anything to use the soul force. This meant that soul force didn''t use the soul mist as fuel but must mean the soul mist generated the soul force on it''s own with no need for outside energy or fuel. Realising this our MC began to absorb the soul mist with renewed vigour and gradually his soul form began to change.


    Previously his soul form appeared to be a loose cloud which could be pulled apart at any time but as time passed under a constant and increasing attack by the force, he formed something akin to a energy nucleus which looked not unlike a plasma ball. When this new form had stabilised it was no longer an issue to resist the attacks which unbeknown to our MC had gradually been increasing in power and due to the constant attack had purified his newly enlarged soul and strengthened his willpower to an enormous degree, beyond anything that had been seen on our world or any world in our universe for that matter.


    However at this point it seemed as though our universe have had enough and with a flash of what appeared to be pure white lightning our plasma ball of an MC was cast out of the darkness. Looking around himself all he could say was "damn" looking around he could see colours everywhere some could be described reds, yellows, blues, greens and everything else but others didn''t exist elsewhere and he could only "see" them in his current form. There where also lights and clouds of nebulous and gigantic forms which considering where he just was he could only assume were whole other universes. There were also forms moving through this chaotic void, mindless and uncaring these forms must be things beyond gods but they where an unknown quantity, so as previously our "plasma ball" began to try absorbing some of the local energy.


    This was much harder to do than previously however, if any of the gods from our universe saw the "plasma ball" trying to do this they would shout "are you nuts". As unknown to him he had entered the chaotic realm. This was the source for all the universes but was also a realm who''s power could even destroy gods with no effort. But our MC didn''t know this and just continued with his now indomitable willpower. Eventually he managed to absorb just a tiny piece of the local energy which began to run rampant within him. But as usual using his admittedly insane willpower and soul force which could now contend with the collective soul energy of several planets, gained control of this chaos energy and began to refine and merge with it. This was a slow process and after untold amounts of pain to his soul and an unknown procession of time it was complete.


    This new energy was to put it mildly insane adding it to his soul had changed him again now looking like a crystal sphere with a soul force so strong he thought he could tear apart these beings that were beyond gods who had begun to observe him.


    After all this time our now "disco ball" MC suddenly asked himself a question "why do I want to get stronger?", he started this to resist losing who he was, but due to this he was cast out of his universe into what he now termed the chaos realm presumably to be destroyed but it didn''t happen as he''d done something theoretically impossible in absorbing and refining pure chaos energy into his soul. So what did he want to do now. While thinking on this he began to feel a pull in a certain direction. Following this feeling he thought this may be a new direction to take so as the feeling became stronger he began moving faster by using his will and soul force he moved at rates beyond any mortal conception.


    When he began moving the unknown beings that were observing him started following, it is unknown what would be going through their minds if they even had them but by their actions and the fact they kept a reasonable distance it can be thought they were just curious. It has to be known these beings sometimes come into the corporeal universes and the gods of these universes are terrified of these beings as they overpower them by a huge margin.


    Back to the disco ball who was rocketing through the chaos aiming for a far universe composed of a highly energetic form which was closer to the chaos realm than others while being composed of many more colours than the rest. Thinking "this may be an interesting place to start" our disco ball moved into this universe following the pull and looking behind himself he saw he was being followed by three of the unknown beings who actually appeared to be having fun playing tag. Several of the local deities to where they entered this universe could feel a disturbance and directed their divine sight to this and what they saw left them shocked, scared and most assuredly confused. There were three lovecraftian horrors playing tag with a Christmas decoration heading towards a huge world largely separated from the rest of the universe.


    While the rest of the universe was in a state of panic the disco ball began to descend towards the planet where he could feel the pull from followed by his entourage as he began to think of them as the three stooges.


    Following the direction of the pull he headed towards the eastern side of the southern most continent of this planet and further zooming in on a city on the edge of an empire on that continent. He eventually approached the medieval looking town aiming for a large reinforced mansion at the northern side of the city where there was a collapsed boy of maybe 8-9 years old. Slowly our MC phased through the wall and approached the fallen child, eventually stopping above his head feeling the pull he followed his instinct and entered his head. Nobody saw any of this as there was no one there and even if there was they still wouldn''t see anything as the disco ball and the three stooges were in soul form so no mortal could see them. As our MC entered the mind of the child he could hear a thought from the three monstrosities loud and clear, even if it was in a childish voice


    "THIS LOOKS LIKE FUN"


    to which our MC finally responded to them "you have no idea????".

 2 Chapter 2 Repairing some issues

    Our MC slowly began to return to consciousness and began to slowly look around himself with blurry eyes which he couldn''t quite seem to focus as yet while thinking to his self


    ''Well I''m back in the land of the living''


    While trying to take stock of the new situation he found himself in and why his new body was collapsed on the ground, he was suddenly assailed by unspeakable pain, every millimetre of his new body felt as though it was simultaneously freezing and burning while he also felt as though his muscles and veins would burst at any moment.


    For many people this pain would drive them mad or at the very least send them into a coma, however after suffering the attacks on his soul for an unknown period of time the MC could just casually shrug off this pain as nothing more than a mosquito bite but even though he could ignore this pain it was still rather irritating.


    Thinking along these lines he turned his soul energy inwards to try and locate the source of this pain. What must be understood about soul sight is that it doesn''t use conventional senses, so what is seen or rather sensed is converted into a form that the person using this sight can recognize and to a certain extent understand and due to the current soul strength of the MC he could see more and understand much more than almost anyone else human or not.


    Inspecting his new body with his soul sight he could see that there was a rampant energy ripping through his body damaging organs, muscles even into his bones. This was similar to someone receiving an electric shock but with the electricity passing through with absolutely no resistance. Curious about this energy he dove deeper into the mind and body of his host to find the source. As he saw through the physical aspect of the body he passed into the spiritual landscape which exists within everyone but cannot usually be seen but only felt as it doesn''t exist within our dimension but is a separate dimension within everyone but intersects with the body at some points operating as a secondary nervous system.


    In our world this spiritual system is largely separated from the mundane world. Certain people like true clairvoyants, mentalists and other gifted people, have a stronger connection with their spirit realm but these are again in the far minority and are largely overshadowed by the non sensitive and charlatans.


    Looking into this spiritual world he began to see a large plain which was being ravaged by high wind, rains and lightning strikes. This was representative of what was happening to his new body in that it was energy from his spiritual realm which was hurting his physical body. Looking further he could see the source of the damage. In the middle of the plain he could see a small river running through which was currently overflowing and sending out the rain, wind and lightning in random directions.


    Interpreting what he was seeing, it appears as though the people of this world were able to absorb energy much like cultivators or magicians from the stories he had read previously but something was blocking this energy in his host''s case causing the energy to overflow damaging his body. Looking further down the river he could see a gate blocking the way further down and the strange thing was that past this gate the world seemed to end just continuing on as a misty nothingness. Returning his attention to the gate he could see it was sturdy but the strange thing was that there were glowing chains across it blocking entry. Moving closer he exerted a little force on the gate which didn''t budge. But this lack of movement seemed related to the chains themselves rather than the gates themselves. So stepping back and thinking he once again connected this to cultivation in the fantasy''s of his youth were people had to break through bottlenecks to proceed, however there was something strange going on as the chains were not native to the landscape but instead appeared to be made by some form of outside intervention.


    Without understanding the full situation and with no time to investigate he couldn''t just attack the chains but he could do something about the river. Covering it with his soul force he started to contain the damage occurring and looking for a quick fix he came up with the idea of widening the river. So slowly he exerted more of his soul this time on the banks of the river themselves and pushed outwards. This caused more pain to the body than the damage from the overflowing but gradually the banks began to move out allowing the level of the river to drop below the top of the banks.


    As he was doing this he could see the banks began to collapse but he held them together with his soul force and began to compress and strengthen them until the river was about four times wider than it was before and the banks were so compressed they appeared to be made of concrete.


    Knowing that this would only be a patch and wouldn''t fix the underlying problem he began to search around looking for other options. After inspecting the plain more closely which had already started to repair automatically, he saw that there were many small tributaries connected to the river but they had nothing coming out of them and instead energy was being pushed back into them. Thinking about it these channels must be something similar to nerves like the nervous system. So he began to trace these channels and found they connected to lakes that where in turn connected to small ponds which themselves had smaller channels connected to the boundary of his spiritual realm.


    The thing about these channels, lakes and ponds was that they all appeared to be clogged and stagnant. Realising that this may be a solution for his current situation he directed thin needle like stream of energy up the first channel and into the first connected lakes which he had decided to call nodes and the small ponds would be called sub-nodes. Once the energy needle had reached the first node he directed more energy up the spike. Using this he enlarged the end of the needle so it looked something like an umbrella which he pulled back to the river clearing the blockage in the channel. The strange thing was as the blockage entered the river it was destroyed with nothing left. But thinking that the river is actually pure energy he didn''t question it anymore as he''d seen stranger things.


    Continuing this for a while the channel became completely cleared and energy from the river started freely flowing back up the channel reaching the first node. When the energy had reached the first node he began to actively direct it again so it broke up the blockages and cleared the node. He noticed that as he was clearing the node and replaced the impurities with pure energy the process became easier. This probably meant that once he reached a certain level of energy relative to the impurities in the nodes they would clear themselves. So with a new goal he exerted more energy in to the other channel and started the process of clearing them all.


    Eventually all the nodes were cleared which lead to another interesting thing. The nodes pulsed almost like breathing when they were cleared, which in turn created a suction effect on the sub nodes, pulling the impurities out and destroying them with no outside direction needed.


    The level of the river kept getting lower which took the pressure off but he did notice that the level started to increase once everything was cleared and the sub nodes started to fill with energy from outside and not from the river.


    Using the situation with the river as a reference he choose to expand the channels, nodes and sub-nodes to give himself more time to fix the issue with the gate. Once this was complete they were all about twice as large as before and much stronger.


    Finally he could take stock of the situation he found himself in and began to see if he could learn about his new life. So using his soul force he began checking through the mind of the body he took over.


    "So my name is Kyle Powell".

 3 Chapter 3 You can call me Kyle

    "So my name is Kyle Powell".


    With this the man who now took the name of his new body, began to analyse and take apart the memories of the previous owner. When Kyle started inspecting the memories he found that the mind and soul of the previous owner became broken due to the pain and energy released from the overflowing energy in his spirit realm. This meant the child was in a vegetative state and with no intervention would live out his days without any change but with the new Kyle at the helm he could live again in a fashion.


    Inspecting the memories the first thing Kyle realised that even though the previous owner was no longer present the memories had various emotions attached to them which may influence the new Kyle. While he didn''t want to fully erase these he knew that it may affect his interactions with people and colour his opinions with pre conceived notions which may in turn limit his interactions in this new world. So with some regret he began separating the emotions from the memories and dissipated them so he could review the memories with a dispassionate view. This may sound easy but it was only possible with his powerful will as memories are always intrinsically tied to the emotions of the one who experienced them.


    As Kyle was clearing the emotions he began to view the memories as if he was playing a virtual reality game. He was present and saw what the other Kyle saw but was still removed from it so he could clearly see what was playing out. Starting with Kyle himself, he is now an 8 year old child of the Powell family and son of the current family head. His father is known as Landon Powell and as the head of the family is also their strongest warrior. His father had two brothers the oldest being Harris Powell who was three years younger and James Powell who was eight years younger.


    Kyle''s father was currently in his early thirties and stood at an imposing 6''3" tall. He had black hair but warm brown eyes. He was also well built and looked like he would have been a good MMA fighter in his previous life. Kyle''s mother who was known as Maria was very unlike his father she came in at a dainty 5''4" with auburn hair and green eyes both of which Kyle inherited. Speaking of which I haven''t yet described Kyle, he measured in at roughly 4''8" which for his age was rather tall, he had emerald green eyes which were quite a bit darker than his mother''s but the same auburn hair. His body was also rather muscular for his age due to the continuous training from his father.


    The Powell family were the top noble family in their city which currently had six other noble families of various sizes and strengths vying for their place in the city. Some of these families were allies while some were antagonistic towards them, however there were currently no open fights and on the surface the city was peaceful.


    The city that they currently resided in was called New Grange city and this city was on the western most edge of the Finek Empire. The size of New Grange city was really surprising in that it covered almost the same area as Los Angeles in his past life and the territory was about the same as the state of Alaska. The city itself was surrounded by an intimidating wall reaching close to 30 metres tall and closing in on 6 metres thick at the top with the base flaring out on the inner side by another 2 metres. The wall was made of a material which looked like marble but was much stronger. How this was mined and constructed was outside of Kyle''s knowledge so creating a list of things to look into, this would definitely be one of them.


    Due to the area the city covered there was space for all farming that was needed for all the 1.5 million people currently living within the walls. The life of most of these people was pretty decent in comparison to some of the poorest countries in our world. They worked and lived as an extended part of the noble families that ruled the cities so they would always be housed and fed but this also bred a culture of elitism as it was very difficult if not almost impossible for a commoner to rise above his born status. This in turn seemed to have caused culture to stagnate in the cities.


    Outside of the city the territory was largely wild and untamed. Within this one territory there were mountains and forests with an untapped wealth of resources. However this couldn''t be freely used as there was a problem, that being demonic beasts. In this world there are many wild animals, which are used for food, clothing and other miscellaneous projects but demonic beasts are different. A demonic beast is an animal which through one way or another has absorbed a certain amount of the energy in the atmosphere which is called mana in this world. The absorption of this mana has caused a change in the beasts, making them stronger, faster and smarter than their contemporaries. This is the reason for the wall around the city and also why the only people who explore and exploit the land are warriors who have the strength to fight against the beasts.


    Speaking of warriors, this land has a system which allows humans to absorb mana which allows them to fight the beasts. The system for developing the humans of this land is split into three different branches these being the warrior, the mage and the sorcerer. The warrior is more concerned with physical combat and uses the mana they absorb to strengthen and evolve their physical body, what this in turn means is the lowest level warrior is as strong and as fast as our world''s best athlete. The mage instead concentrates on the mental aspect, they are smarter and have faster reflexes than other people and can use their mana to trigger a phenomena outside of themselves. Mages are also divided by elemental attribute as well but some are able to train in more than one school. Finally are the sorcerers who are considered the strangest as they focus on their spiritual power. While this world doesn''t focus on the spiritual realm, by trial and error they have made some progress in it. Sorcerers can have a wider range of skills than warriors or mages, such as being a dream walker or shape shifter which terrifies both warriors and mages as these abilities can give a sorcerer the means to fight them on equal footing in their own realm of expertise and defeat them.


    Each of these paths is divided into great stages which are in turn divided into 10 levels per stage. For example Kyle''s father is a warrior at the second great stage fourth level which makes him currently stronger than anyone else in the city. But people fear Kyle''s mother more than his father as she is a dual mage/sorcerer at the second great stage first level. While her level may be lower than her husband the combination of paths makes her a fearsome opponent.


    Kyle had started his path at the age of four and it is expected for the scion of a noble house to be between level 3-6 before the age of 10 but Kyle was still below the first level with no signs of breaking through which confused him as he definitely had enough talent and had absorbed enough mana to break through the first level but something was introduced to him which halted his progress and worse it for all intents and purposes killed him. Thinking along these lines the new Kyle realised how precarious his position currently was. He was protected by his parents but someone still managed to do something to him.


    As he recalled various things from his memories he began to see condescension and pity in the view of the people who were around him and as time went on he began to see anger in some of the people like his first uncle Harris. This could not be ignored he needed to find out what was done to him and by whom, the why would reveal itself when he answered the first two questions. With this Kyle couldn''t help but think to his self.


    ''Come on gang we''ve got a mystery to solve.''

 4 Chapter 4 Mamas Boy

    ''Come on gang we''ve got a mystery to solve.''


    Smiling to his stupid Scooby-doo reference Kyle began to think about the situation he was in currently. Firstly it appeared someone had done something to him either some kind of chemical or poison but it could be some special ability he isn''t aware of. Secondly if it was some kind of poison it would have to have been used by someone close to him or with access to him, as the son of the head of the family he was always protected so to dose him they would need to be close. This line of thought wouldn''t help as with cooks, maids and guards not to mention his family there would be over 50 people who would have been able to dose him.


    Realising that he was just spinning his wheels Kyle began to think about how he could protect himself. The most obvious way would to be stronger and so he began to look at how people strengthen themselves in this world. In this world people start at the foundation level which is the start of the strengthening procedure which incorporates the first five levels. Currently there are a few techniques to strengthen your foundation but they all comprise a breathing technique to draw in mana from the air and a mobilization technique to agitate the man in the main channel giving it enough force to breach the bottleneck.


    While Kyle was thinking on these things he realised that his view of his spiritual world was still influenced by the memories of the previous Kyle and that was why he saw it as a river as that was how past Kyle imagined it to be. At the start of the foundation level there are minor differences in the levels of people''s mana which made Kyle realise that when he forcefully expanded his main channel he changed made himself far more powerful than anyone else at his level. But Kyle inspected his physical body to see if there were any other changes, he realised that when he forcefully expanded his main channel, nodes and sub-nodes he damaged his physical body at the same time. The sub-nodes were connected to his physical body and the damage to his body was through this connection, but as he was inspecting his body he could see the damage was already repairing itself and again this seemed to be caused by the mana in the sub nodes bleeding in to his body healing and purifying him.


    Kyle decided that while it was an advantage to expand these things he should do it slowly rather than instantly so his body could repair itself. Another thing Kyle noticed is that in all his family techniques there was no mention of the nodes and sub-nodes. Curious at this Kyle started to process the technique he trained in which was called "Breath of Ares" and was one of the top foundation technique in the whole empire.


    When Kyle began the technique he saw the energy was drawn in to his main channel and when he manipulated it in accordance to the instructions there was a slight backflow in to the nodes. This backflow wasn''t enough to clear any of the points which made Kyle think this was by accident rather than by intention, however this gave Kyle a theory that the reason this is a top technique is because of this backflow. He would need to investigate this with other techniques as reference to see what the difference was. He did notice that the back flow only affected 3 nodes and didn''t even reach the sub-nodes, Kyle had 8 nodes and 64 sub-nodes cleared and enlarged but suspected there were more but he couldn''t access them so he conjectured he may be able to do more when he broke in to the next level.


    Regardless of how interesting he found all this it didn''t help his immediate situation as this would all take time to investigate. Thinking further about all this Kyle realised at this point he was still face down on the floor. Calling himself an idiot and just being happy that nobody had walked in while he was face down, Kyle sat up and adjusted himself so he was sitting with his legs outstretched and his back resting against the bed that was present in the room.


    "Common Kyle think."


    While talking to himself Kyle was thinking about how to dig himself out of this hole. He could tell his parents but with no proof and no suspects what could they do. His only option in this case would be to rely on an outside agency to help him. Currently in the empire there are 3 respected professions which are represented by their respective guilds who in turn shield their members. These professions are blacksmith who are usually made up of warriors as they are the only ones with the strength to be able to work with the special materials used to make weapons. Alchemists whose members are usually made up of mages as they are able to use their mental abilities to remember a multitude of concoctions and their elemental mastery is used in the process to great effect. Finally are the array masters who are composed of sorcerers as no one else is able to manufacture arrays. There is a lot of crossover between these professions as they often require each other''s assistance, for example a blacksmith may need both an alchemist and array master to create a new forge with enough heat to melt a special metal.


    Of all of these the array masters are the most esoteric and protective of their members. As previously one of their low level masters was beaten by a noble of a neighbouring city for not finishing in time. The guild master when hearing of this declared the noble as being black listed which was echoed by the other 2 great guilds because if he attacks one he may attack all. This noble in turn began demanding all the guilds in this city needed to be disbanded. This was one too many for the guild master of the array guild who was a dream walker and in retaliation he broke the noble. Nobody knows exactly what happened but a week after the confrontation the noble was seen begging the guild master to take away his nightmares.


    This definitely seemed to be the way to protect his self but Kyle didn''t know anything about arrays or sorcerers so he would need to gather some more information on this before he made a move. Looking back further in his memories he found that there were many arrays in his home which took the place of modern appliances and conveniences. He even had a couple in his room such as a heater, water generation and lighting. Thinking that of all of these the water would be the safest to mess with, Kyle walked to the taps to see if he could get an idea as to how they work. Trying to use his soul sight to look at the array Kyle found he couldn''t extend his sight outside of his body.


    This was worrying as this was his major advantage and without it Kyle would be like a man with only one eye. Trying again and again Kyle suddenly felt a great deal of pain from one of the nodes in his brain. The layout of the nodes currently stands at 3 in his brain and 1 each in his chest, each arm and each leg. The node in his brain that hurt was located in the centre of his forehead. Leaning forward Kyle''s hand touched the array just below the tap. As he touched the array his soul sight which he had been trying to externalise kicked in with full force showing him the full layout of the array. The array was in fact a large glyph in the centre surrounded by a circle made up of a string of glyphs. Kyle could feel a flow of energy within the glyph which was mainly made of mana but it also had a tiny piece of soul energy within it. This confused Kyle because according to all the memories he inherited nobody in the empire uses soul force for anything, but he realised of all the people the most obscure and unknown were the sorcerers and they may use soul energy at least in part. Deciding on a course and planning what he would need to say Kyle said to himself


    "Looks like I need to speak to mum."

 5 Chapter 5 You can be my Guinea pig

    "Looks like I need to speak to mum."


    Kyle''s mother was a bit of an anomaly in this border city. As a mage she should have been taken to the capital of the empire to be trained in the imperial academy. This was done as mages are classed as if they are a weapon of the empire. As mages are low in number in comparison to warriors the higher levels like to keep them around the capital and train them themselves to try and enforce loyalty and in most cases mages are married into the upper status families such as the imperial family or into a duke''s family.


    Kyle''s family had the noble rank of earl which gave them overall authority over New Grange city but they were overseen by an imperial governor who held no noble title but had the authority to enact imperial edicts, intervene in conflicts between nobles and finally ensure the tithes from the noble families were collected in full and on time. The imperial governor is backed by the imperial garrison and if needed he can request reinforcement from the imperial army who are based in the capital.


    Mages are treated as tactical weapons by the empire as a single mage used in the correct way can rival an entire legion of warriors, thus the imperial family is unwilling to allow too many mages to escape their clutches.


    Maria Powell managed to avoid being dragged to the capital by being a dual mage/sorcerer and was protected by her them teacher. Maria''s teacher was a second stage third level sorcerer whose speciality was a form of future sight. In battle this future sight could be used to predict an enemies plan and movements before they thought of them. This isn''t why the empire was cautious around them, it was because in addition to short span sight Maria''s teacher also was able exert a further sight and could make predictions which had saved many cities throughout the empire from impending disasters, earning them the respect of most of the commoner population and if they were directed towards imperial assets, could do irreparable damage.


    Obviously this action would cause more harm than the teacher was willing but just the ability to galvanise the populace in this way caused the imperial family to tread carefully and they also couldn''t remove them as they still needed their assistance. So when Maria came into her abilities in New Grange city where her teacher resided she was protected. How Maria become this Sorcerer''s student Kyle didn''t know but he did know his parents married for love rather than for gain which made his opinion of them raise.


    Deciding that he would need to find his mother Kyle thought for a minute to try and remember if she would be anywhere specifically at this time. He decided the most obvious place would be the gardens as she usually took tea there when it was around midday and looking at the sun it appeared to be around noon.


    Standing up and inspecting his self in the mirror Kyle straightened his. Looking back he could see a slightly pale Caucasian child with dark green eyes and dark auburn hair looking back. He had high cheekbones a straight nose but still with a little baby fat around his face making him look cute. Seeing this Kyle thought


    ''Not bad I can work with this''.


    Deciding that he looked okay and nothing appeared out of place he quickly ran over what he was going to say and ask his mother before moving to the door. Standing outside of the door Kyle almost crashed into a little girl who was waiting outside. She seemed to have been waiting for a while as she was slightly moving from one foot to another to keep her legs from aching while looking supremely bored. When Kyle came out of the room the young girl stopped fidgeting and stood at attention.


    "My lord" the young girl said while bowing her head.


    Looking her over Kyle quickly remembered that this was Miranda who was his personal maid and would follow him in case he needed assistance with anything. Miranda came from a commoner family and she came to work at the family 2 years ago with several other y trainees of the same age. When Kyle''s mother was inspecting the new maids she saw or felt something in Miranda and decided to follow her instinct by appointing her as her son''s trainee maid.


    The personal attendants of the Powell family would receive better training and resources than they would otherwise be able to receive if they weren''t in the employ of the family hence why many people apply when positions appear. This isn''t to say all noble families treat their people well or to the same degree, as many cannot be bothered to waste resources and funds helping the lower levels of society. Remembering this Kyle was once again impressed by his family as by doing this they ensured a certain degree of loyalty from their people without having to enforce this through fear.


    "Hello Miranda, do you know if my mother is in the gardens at the moment?" Kyle asked unknowingly he had a mild smile on his face when talking to Miranda.


    "Yes my lord I saw the lady heading down from the residence about a half hour ago." Miranda went slightly red when speaking to Kyle as he rarely spoke to her except to give her directions and orders.


    "Oh excellent let''s head there now as I need to speak with her." Saying this Kyle unconsciously took Miranda''s hand and started to lead the way. When he took her hand Kyle''s soul sight kicked in again causing him to pause as he started to see into Miranda''s spirit realm. Miranda''s spirit realm was rather barren in comparison to Kyle''s. The river that flows through Kyle was only a tiny trickle in Miranda and her nodes were all blocked and were also smaller than Kyle''s even before the expansion. Thinking about these things Kyle conjectured this was due to Miranda not having starting her training yet as commoners don''t begin until they are 10 and she was still only 8.


    The pause in Kyle''s step was only for a second until he recovered his soul sight. Turning to Miranda who was bright red from Kyle taking her hand, Kyle smiled again and said


    "I think I''ll ask mother if we can start your foundation training early as it will be helpful to you" what Kyle didn''t say was ''you can be my guinea pig''. Kyle needed to understand the process of cultivation these people used and all the details he could find in the manuals that were read previously only told the how and not the why. It can be taken as if you are reading a manual for a TV, you can understand how to use the TV but you wouldn''t understand the ins and outs to repair it. Taking this analogy Kyle needed to see this cultivation from the start to understand the process.


    However Kyle isn''t a psychopath and he wouldn''t hurt a child so while Miranda was his guinea pig he would only use tried and tested methods currently in circulation at least until he could get a handle on what he needs to understand.


    Miranda didn''t think about any of this. When she heard Kyle wanted her to start cultivating early she got excited as this means he had accepted her into his household and she and her family would be protected by the current head and scion of the top family in the city. Thinking about this Miranda got some tears in her eyes as there are many situations with noble families where staff are dismissed for no reason and with no assistance. Once people are dismissed from noble houses they will find themselves struggling to find work as business owners would fear the retaliation of the noble house, meaning that nine times out of ten these families will find themselves sent to the slum area of the city with no means of recovering.


    Miranda couldn''t wait to tell her parents what Kyle had said as he wouldn''t throw her away if he was willing to give her a training manual even if she ceased being his personal maid the family would keep her employed. This was one of the advantages of being raised by a noble house as their training manuals, even the low level ones are much better and effective than the manuals which are provided by the city.


    Kyle who was rushing now towards the gardens with a smile on his face as he can start to investigate his problem realised he was dragging a dazed Miranda behind him. Slowing down he looked at Miranda with some concern


    "Are you alright? You aren''t feeling unwell?"


    Shaking herself from the daze, she looked at Kyle and said


    "No my lord I''m fine, and thank you."


    Grinning Kyle only said


    "Don''t mention it, now hurry up we need to see mother."


    Rushing away again but this time with Miranda keeping up, Kyle rushed through the halls as if he had run through them a thousand times until he reached the open air and could see the sun shining down on an elegant woman reading a book while sipping tea.


    "Hi mum."

 6 Chapter 6 NO ONE MESSES WITH MUM

    "Hi mum."


    Hearing the voice of her son Maria looked up and smiled. Putting down her book and tea she said


    "Come here darling let me have a look at you, you''ve been training for the last week and I missed you."


    Coming to his mother Kyle was a bit nervous as there is always a connection between a mother and their child and he didn''t know if his mother would pick up on anything unusual in his demeanour. But regardless Kyle walked forward and his mother took his hands while looking at him warmly.


    "How are you dear, you seem a little nervous?"


    When his mother took his hands Kyle''s decided to use his soul sight to get an idea of his mother''s strength. Looking into her spirit realm Kyle could see in her first level that two of the nodes and some of the connected sub-nodes in her head were active but not cleared as his were as they hadn''t reached the saturation point where the nodes begin to clear themselves, this was probably due to the cultivation method his mother used which like his "Breath of Ares" only directed a tiny amount of energy in to the nodes. Wondering further down this line of thought Kyle began to gain a picture of why there were different paths and how people could walk down them. The paths would appear to be connected to which nodes were cleared and active during the first level as this would lay the foundation for later levels, but as always this would take time to prove or disprove.


    While using his soul sight Kyle decided to look further into his mother''s strength and so with a thought he dove deeper towards where the gate should be. When he arrived he saw something curious. The gate was opened but not fully, it was as if someone not strong enough had pushed open the gate but only enough to just squeeze through. Not thinking too much about this Kyle passed the gate to have a peek at the second level. Entering the neck level was as if someone had dimmed the lights. This realm seemed darker somehow but Kyle had a feeling this was more to do with him rather than where he was. In this area Kyle could see there were more nodes and sub-nodes but he was distracted by the main channel and didn''t fully explore the surroundings.


    The main channel in this area was different than in the first, looking back he could see energy pilling up at the gate but being unable to pass through due to gates only being partially open. As the energy trickled through the gate its nature appeared to change, growing stronger and wilder. This would appear to be what changes between levels as the energy passes the gate its fundamental form changes giving more power to the user, but as the energy passes through the first level to reach the second and the energy is only a trickle the user cannot fight at full strength for long.


    Pulling his sight back Kyle readjusted his sight to look in his mothers eyes. While he was inspecting his mother''s spirit realm less than a second had passed as the soul unfettered by the limitations of the physical brain can operate at a much faster pace.


    Kyle decided to take a chance on this as his mother looked at him with a gaze filled with love and surprisingly a little guilt.


    "Mum while I was training something unexpected happened and it doesn''t seem related to anything from the warrior or mage paths so I think it may be related to the sorcerer''s path."


    Looking at him with curiosity his mother motioned for him to sit down.


    "Please tell me what happened."


    Looking around Kyle could see some servants around. As he didn''t know who to trust Kyle looked pointedly at his mother then the surroundings. Realizing what he wanted Maria pulled out a small brass array from her purse which had been left on the table. Infusing some mana into it a bubble surrounded them which no sound could pass in or out of. This was an isolation barrier which can be used for meetings or private conversations.


    Looking up Maria saw Kyle''s maid Miranda was inside the barrier, looking at Kyle she asked


    "Can she be trusted?"


    Looking at Miranda, Kyle made a decision which would pay dividends in later years.


    "I think so and it''s not like I can hide this permanently."


    Hearing her master''s words Miranda stood a little straighter and moved a little closer to Kyle. Seeing this Maria smiled a little and thought ''looks like my little boy knows how to sway people''. Not thinking beyond this Kyle began to narrate what he thinks his mother should know and what he needs to keep her from getting suspicious.


    "Okay to start with when I was training I had an unusual experience, when trying to breach the first level again I suffered from some backlash which caused me a great deal of pain but it seems to have awoken some kind of inner sight. I can visualize my cultivation and I noticed some things that I need to clarify."


    When Maria heard that her baby boy had suffered pain from a backlash she looked at him with pity and her eyes clouded almost crying, but when she heard about the inner sight her mage background came to the forefront and her curiosity took charge.


    "Wait inner sight and visualizing cultivation, can you explain what you mean fully."


    "Well when I see my mana it appears to be a river flowing through my spirit realm while the bottleneck I''m trying to breakthrough appears to be a gate. I''ve also seen something which doesn''t appear in any of the training manuals I''ve seen."


    Her curiosity peaking Maria couldn''t contain her excitement as something new within cultivation is something which hasn''t happened in decade''s maybe even centuries.


    "Well speak up what else did you see."


    Seeing her eagerness Kyle couldn''t help but smile a little.


    "Coming off the main channel there are several pools which I''ve called nodes and further off of these nodes are a greater number of smaller pools I call sub-nodes. These sub-nodes appear to connected to our physical bodies at various points while the nodes themselves while not physical reside in each should and both sides of the hip with another in the chest and the last three in our heads. The main channel is connected to the node in our chest allowing the mana to flow into us from there."


    Hearing to this point Maria suddenly became quiet and her eyes drifted off while she thought about what she just heard. After a couple of minutes she turned her attention to her son again and began to tell him some details and theories she had heard previously.


    "Well to start of your inner sight sounds like an upgraded version of what some of the most powerful sorcerers have, which they have termed a spiritual sense. My master had this sense as well and came up with some theories that what we know of cultivation only scratches the surface. This seems to validate what she believed."


    Hearing this Kyle wanted to meet this elusive master but he knew she was currently in the Capital advising the Emperor.


    "Mum there is more. This is the part I didn''t want to get to the ears of the outsiders."


    Hearing this Maria stopped her line of thinking and looked at Kyle seriously.


    "I found that when I am in physical contact with someone else, I can see their spirit realm. By comparing my gate with Miranda''s I can say that there is something strange with my gate. Miranda just needs time to accumulate enough mana to open her gate however my gate appeared to have chains barring me from opening it. These chains do not come from my body they have been somehow imposed on me from an external source. I don''t know however if this source is an array or a poison. I also cannot tell who crippled me in this way, but it has to be someone close. This would be either a long standing servant or someone from our own family. That''s why I''m happy with Miranda being my maid as she came to us after the fact.


    Both Maria and Miranda were shocked by this revelation. Miranda could only think ''how can someone do this''. But Maria was much more direct with her anger


    "IF I CATCH WHOEVER HURT MY SON I WILL FLAY THEM AND ROAST THEM ALIVE."

 7 Chapter 7 Eureka!!

    "IF I CATCH WHOEVER HURT MY SON I WILL FLAY THEM AND ROAST THEM ALIVE."


    "Whoa calm down mum. We don''t know who did it or what motivated them. Until we have all the information we should move carefully lest we fall into a trap laid by our unseen enemy."


    Hearing her son Maria gradually calmed down but she was still breathing hard. No one should hurt a child especially when that child''s mother is a powerful and vengeful banshee. Gulping down air Maria turned her sight to her son once again.


    "Then how do you think we should proceed?"


    It may seem strange that an adult is asking for guidance from an 8 year old child, but Kyle even previously was calm and smarter than the other children his age. His mother wasn''t aware but Kyle''s maturity was due to having to suffer the bullying of his relatives. It wasn''t to the point of physical confrontation as they didn''t want to incur the wrath of his parents, however little snide comments and discussions about his lack of progress just loud enough for him to hear can cause a lot of pain to a young child.


    "Well first off we need to ensure our protection. In your and fathers case I don''t think they will move against you but in my case I think I''ll replace the long serving staff with people of my own choice. I''ll train these people myself starting with Miranda."


    Hearing this Miranda looked between Maria and Kyle as all of this manoeuvring was currently beyond her understanding but she was happy to be able to train and help her master, as his little piece of kindness had cemented her view of him as a kind person in her heart.


    "I will do my best master."


    Hearing Miranda, Kyle looked over at her and could almost feel the happiness and loyalty radiating from her. Kyle was surprised as he looked at his mother and realised another boon he''d received was a form of empathy or an emotional sense he didn''t have before and he could read the strong emotions from people around him. Smiling a little to himself he thought that this new ability would really come in handy. Responding to Miranda, Kyle only said.


    "I don''t doubt it and thank you."


    Returning his attention to his mother, Kyle narrated the next part of his thoughts.


    "Secondly I need to gain outside assistance and protection as we don''t know the motivation behind this attack. If I can become a guild member or get the support from a guild I think it will give me a degree of protection."


    Maria thought on this for a moment. Deciding that what he said made sense as this would limit any direct confrontation for fear of retaliation from the guild, which would only leave indirect methods and hidden attacks which would take time and resources to setup. Maria eventually agreed with Kyle''s thought and asked.


    "So which guild would you be thinking of joining. I assume it would be the blacksmiths as you were planning on taking the warriors path."


    "No due to these new abilities I''ve gained and some other things I''ve noticed, I think an array master would fit me more. Also would I be able to get access to any training methods for mage or sorcerer paths that you have."


    Looking surprised Maria put a finger to the side of her temple while thinking on the changes in her son.


    "Why do you want the training methods for those paths? I do have some basic training methods from the capital, but you know that until you reach the fifth level there isn''t much difference."


    Until a cultivator reaches the fifth level there isn''t much to differentiate between the three paths. However Kyle wanted to analyse the paths from the earliest level to see the differences and if there are methods which lean more to one form or another, it''ll make it easier to identify the differences. Kyle already had a good idea of how the power in this world functions but wanted to verify his hypothesis.


    "Don''t worry mum I have some plans but until I''m ready I don''t want to say too much. Also can you not let your master know about this as any communication could be intercepted and this could be a way to strengthen our family."


    "Alright dear I won''t tell anyone except your father. I''ll also get the methods dropped over to you. I currently have four methods for mage foundation but I only have one for sorcerers."


    "That''s fine mum, I''ll leave you to your tea as I need to start sorting out this mess."


    "I''ll see you later, but come to dinner tonight as we haven''t eaten together as a family for quite a while due to your training and your fathers'' work."


    "Okay I''ll see you at dinner."


    Turning around Kyle walked through the isolation barrier which his mum deactivated shortly afterwards. Kyle them took Miranda''s hand and lead her back to his room. Kyle didn''t realise but he''d started leading Miranda by hand when walking together. He didn''t think much about this as he still had much of the mentality of his old self so he just thought he was keeping a child from getting lost, but the servants that saw this began gossiping about the young lord''s new toy.


    Eventually he reached his chambers which were composed of four rooms. The first was a reception room, second was his bedroom, third was his bathroom which was strangely the room he awoke in and lastly was his cultivation room.


    Leading Miranda to the cultivation room, he told the young girl to sit down as he would impart the ''Breath of Ares'' cultivation method he currently used. After 2 hours Miranda had got the basics of the method down and only needed to practice it to begin her path.


    As Miranda started her practice Kyle took her hands and sat opposite her. Extending his soul sight he started checking the process Miranda was going through. Kyle could see the amount of mana in her main channel had started to increase. The flow of mana came from the node in her chest and each cycle of the mobilization method sent a small amount of mana into each of the nodes in her shoulders and hips eventually going back to her chest.


    Following the cycle his self. Kyle could see that it had the same effect on him with a small amount of energy entering his nodes. Thinking about this Kyle decided to try an experiment. When Miranda finished the cultivation cycle she was on Kyle halted her and just said.


    "During the next cycle when your energy reaches here loop it a few times before releasing it."


    Pointing towards the centre of her chest which was the approximate location of the node situated in her chest. Not thinking about it too much Miranda just nodded her head and started the cycle again. Miranda''s energy passed through her channels and nodes without disturbing the impurities contained in them like a needle being pushed through butter eventually reaching the node in her chest. Unlike previously when the energy just passed through the node without affecting it in any way, Miranda caused the energy to cycle within the node a few times before leaving.


    Looking for any effect on the node Kyle wasn''t disappointed as the impurities within this node gradually thinned and there was a little bit of mana left within the node. It may help if you think of the node as containing muddy water. As you add new fresh water the mud gradually dissipates getting thinner and thinner.


    Doing this a few more times Kyle could see the mana in the node reached a saturation point and started to breakdown the impurities on its own. As the node started clearing itself it had the effect he had seen before where there was a suction effect pulling in the impurities from the surrounding channels and sub nodes, allowing them to start drawing in mana from the surroundings without issue.


    Retrieving his soul sight, Kyle looked at Miranda for any differences. Slowly her consciousness returned opening her eyes she saw Kyle staring at her causing her to go tomato red. Seeing this Kyle could only think ''awww how cute''. He then asked


    "So how do you feel?"


    "I feel fine, actually better than fine. When you instructed me to cycle my mana like that, it became easier to draw in mana from the air."


    This caused Kyle to pause for a second. He then thought of something, if mana is drawn from the air it enters the lungs in the same way as air and the mana must be drawn into the node at that point in the windpipe and by clearing that node it improves the entrance of mana to the system.


    "Miranda can you cultivate one more time"


    Taking her hands and using his soul sight again, Kyle watched the flow of mana into Miranda''s main channel. This flow was much faster than previously and when the mana was cycled again further clearing the node, the flow further increased. And due to the slower and more natural clearing of the node as opposed to his self imposed way of clearing the nodes and channels there was no damage to the cultivators body.


    "Eureka!!"

 8 Chapter 8 Yoga Pants

    "Eureka!!"


    After seeing how clearing the first node increased the flow of mana, Kyle looked at the nodes in his own system and saw that they were filling with mana on their own. This meant they were able to draw mana from the atmosphere without drawing from the main channel, but this posed some new questions. Why do the nodes fill themselves, what is their purpose and what do the sub-nodes do.


    Thinking on this for a moment Kyle decided to try something out. In this world humans are able to fight against the demon beasts due to possessing active skills. In the case of sorcerers and mages this was in the form of spells and their special abilities, but in the case of the warriors this came in the form of a physical boost either defensively, offensively or for speed.


    Kyle as the scion of the Powell family was given access to some of these techniques. He decided to try the fist fighting technique he had trained in before which was called ''fist of the titan'', which boosted the force behind a punch by his approximation to around 300% of the original force, without damaging the fist of the person throwing the punch.


    Kyle cycled the means to use this technique without releasing it, to see what changes would occur and he wasn''t disappointed. Of the sub-nodes connected to the node in his shoulder, three started drawing mana from his node. As he was drawing this energy from the node it carried on filling but the draw was a little bit stronger than the production of new energy so the node started draining. Keeping this up for around half an hour, the node became about half full. Once the node reached this point the node started drawing some mana from the main channel to maintain itself.


    What you have to realise is that you would never normally keep a technique active like this for any length of time, as you would usually channel it and then release it as soon as it''s ready. Also due to his nodes clearing the activation time for this technique had changed from 1.5 seconds to 0.5 seconds meaning that he would always have an advantage over other people using the same technique.


    Kyle grinned to himself as he now knew that as long as he sorts out his bottleneck he''ll be able to resist people several levels higher than him. Pulling back his consciousness he saw his hand was glowing red with black patches floating across it. The depth of the colour indicated he had perfected the activation of the skill. Releasing this technique Kyle''s hand and arm started to ache, which must have been due to sustaining the skill for so long.


    Using his soul sight on the physical realm to see if he had caused any damage, Kyle looked and saw that there was only a little bruising but this had already started to be repaired. Kyle was curious as to how the damage he''d caused to his arm was already repairing itself. While he watched he also saw the muscles and tendons which had been bruised and strained started to be strengthened as they healed.


    "What''s going on?" Kyle said aloud while looking at his hand.


    Miranda looked at him with some concern and asked.


    "What''s wrong master? Have you hurt yourself? The trainers always say that you shouldn''t hold a technique like that without training your body as it may hurt you."


    Thinking about this Kyle realised that this was nothing more than muscle strain and over exerting yourself may cause long term damage if done repeatedly. Explaining this to Miranda she calmed down as she realised he hadn''t cut his path short without realising it. Kyle was still more interested in his boosted healing and where it came from. So once again he turned his sight inwards to work out the mechanics to this new ability.


    Inspecting the area where the damage was located, Kyle could see the nearest sub-node was continuously draining a small amount of mana from its connected node and was infusing it into his flesh. This in turn was healing and strengthening his arm.


    Once the healing completed (which only took about 5 minutes), Kyle pondered on this new found facet to his powers. Thinking about this he decided to do a little experiment. Pushing his mana out of all of his sub-nodes at the same time including those in his head, he let his mana surround his whole body but this time without a specific skill. The colour of his mana came out of his body as a pure white light. This light wasn''t harsh however and Miranda who was still sitting with Kyle found it really comforting.


    Kyle carried on with this exercise for around 10 minutes, while keeping his soul sight active and monitoring his body for any damage. Once he saw that his body was starting to receive a certain amount of strain he released his mana to dissipate into the air like smoke. Watching how his body reacted, he saw the mana started flowing through his whole body making everything from his bones to his balls stronger, more resilient and better. It was an obvious effect on his muscles and bones as they became denser and more powerful while not increasing their size or weight. In the case of his brain he could see the neurons became smaller and more densely packed but it didn''t seem to impede his thoughts and memory, in fact he could think faster and his memories which may be slightly hazy unless he used his soul force to bring them back, became more organised and he appeared to have gained a better recall. This recall was from this new life and his past life, even though he still couldn''t remember his personal life. Kyle could only assume his personal memories were now consigned to oblivion.


    "Right Miranda we have training to do." Kyle turned to Miranda with a grin on his face which couldn''t help but make her start to sweat cold, as this smile was the same smile the chief maid had on her face when she was about to instruct them in the harshest ways possible.


    Kyle then began to change the ''breath of Ares'' cultivation technique that he had given to Miranda previously, to include loops at every node and extended this to also include the brain which wasn''t included in the route previously.


    Watching Miranda start her training, Kyle started to piece together a proper training regime for them both. Even though pushing mana through their sub-nodes would improve their bodies without outside influence, he also decided to train by running, swimming, weight lifting and also yoga which he still had memories of from his past life. He couldn''t remember why he took it up but he could only register one thought of his past self ''yoga pants''.


    In this world people do train physically, however this only extends to some weight lifting and wrestling, there are also the warriors who train with weapons but there doesn''t appear to be any systematic system of training. Martial training changes from family to family while the imperial army focuses on heave bastard swords or claymores with no focus on skill rather on pure power and how to prevent that power from damaging the holder.


    Deciding he needed more information on this world which was called ''Conomor'' his next port of call would be the family library as one of the oldest families in the empire they had records going back thousands of years. The records and books within the empire would usually be written on a special for of paper made from a gyzzick tree. This paper is much longer lasting than other mediums and using demon beast blood as the ink, the records could last indefinitely.


    At this point there was a knock at the door. Miranda stood up and went to answer the door. When Miranda opened the door Kyle saw a woman in her twenties with long brown hair and calm eyes. This was Shauna who was one of his mum''s personal maids and also her closest confidant. Shauna looked at Miranda then towards Kyle bowing her head in greeting to him.


    "Good afternoon young master, at the request of your mother I have brought the training materials you requested as well as a training manual on the basics of arrays for you to read."


    Looking at Shauna, Kyle smiled softly as this woman was like an older sister to him. She had come with his mum when she joined his family and there was never a day where she was apart from his mum.


    "Thank you Shauna, can you thank my Mother for me as these will be a great help."


    "Of course, if you will excuse me."


    Saying this Shauna turned around and left to return to his mother. Kyle had already opened up the scrolls related to mage training as there were a couple of these he could compare them and look for differences in their application.


    "Well looks like we''ve got work to do."

 9 Chapter 9 Reading is good for the brain

    "Well looks like we''ve got work to do."


    Checking through the training scrolls for mages and experimenting with their use, Kyle was able to see that they had one thing in common. The mana feed largely ran through the chest node and through one of the nodes in his brain. The node in his brain was located almost exactly in the centre, between the two hemispheres. Confirming that he was correct about the node relating to magic being in the brain, Kyle then grabbed the only technique which was aimed at producing a sorcerer.


    This technique was the same one his mother practised. It was called ''heavenly deliverance'' for some reason. When Kyle started experimenting with this one he saw as usual some mana flowed to the chest node whilst the remaining flowed equally between the mage node and the node in between his eyes, which was the same one that ached when he tried to use his soul sight externally. Remembering that arrays have some soul energy in them and can only be produced by sorcerers, this started to make sense and maybe when he''s stronger he''ll be able to externalize his soul using the sorcerer node and sub-nodes.


    There was a question now however. Within the brain there are 3 nodes the mage node, sorcerer node and another located towards the back but he couldn''t tell if this was related to anything specifically. As there was no problem with training all these nodes and the ones in his body, in fact these all seemed designed to help people become stronger.


    Now that he had an idea as to how his body now operated Kyle created an analogy so he could understand his new abilities better. The main channel was like a power grid which was capable of sending energy where it was needed, while the nodes were like solar panels which could provide power directly to where they were installed or back into the grid as needed taking some of the pressure off the grid and allowing a gradual increase in power on the grid. Finally the sub-nodes were like power outlets which allowed the use of skills. The sub-nodes also used a small amount of mana to heal and strengthen the body over time.


    Finally Kyle turned his attention to the final book which Shauna had brought with the cultivation techniques. This book was simply titled ''Introduction to array creation''. This book looked old as the binding had started to fray but as this was produced in the standard form of the empire the pages would last indefinitely. On the first page Kyle saw a note which read "To my student, never cease to reach for the stars". Kyle realised this was probably the first book his mother''s master had given to her on her way to become an array master.


    The first array that was listed in the book was the light emitting array, which was the same array that was used in the lighting in his home rather than using torches or candles. This array was charged regularly from a large central mana crystal within the mana. While these mana crystals sound impressive they can be found in many places with a higher than average mana and are collected by low level hunters as the crystals that humans use can be found relatively close to the cities. Also these crystals are not a finite resource as they can re-grow at a reasonably fast rate.


    Demon beasts are also known to eat these crystals on occasion, but they tend to go for the stronger crystals found deeper in the wildness away from the cities.


    As Kyle was reading the book he began to get a handle on how arrays work. Usually an array would have a central glyph. This core glyph would be the purpose glyph which leads to its main function, in this case the core would be ''Light''. There is a circle drawn around this glyph which in turn is surrounded by several other glyphs. These surrounding glyphs are the control glyphs including some that regulate the amount of mana used, the overall light output and converting heat back into light. All in all it was a rather impressive setup which left Kyle thinking about the possibilities.


    Reading further through the book, Kyle saw a few additional arrays including barrier arrays, heating arrays, water production arrays and wind generation arrays. He also saw an array which was written in his mother''s hand, this was the shock array which could deliver a mild shock to people who touched it. Kyle couldn''t work out why his mother wrote this array down but then had an idea. This array was very similar to a shock pen so it appeared his mum was a practical joker when she was younger.


    Later in the book there was also a reference to a formation. This is when multiple arrays are laid and linked to produce a special or secondary effect. The most obvious one was for Kyle''s bath which had hot water meaning there must be a water producing array and a heating array in a formation.


    There was no limit to how many arrays can be linked in a formation, however you must be careful as the more arrays are linked the more chance there was of an error occurring due to a conflict between the arrays. This may simply cause the formation to fail but there have been instances where the formation was caught in a cycle until it exploded. This was something Kyle needed to be careful of.


    The glyphs used in the arrays looked very similar to written Chinese or Japanese and also had a similar layout in that one glyph could represent a whole word or concept. Kyle was curious as to where these glyphs came from or who learnt how to use them.


    Thinking about the uses of these glyphs and further uses, Kyle was also curious as to further development in them but he would probably run into a dead end due to the length of time people have been using them. But then it hit him, quickly flipping through the book and double checking he couldn''t see anything about using two core glyphs.


    "They can''t be that stupid, can they?"


    Saying this aloud pulled Miranda out of her cultivation. Looking at Kyle with a curious gaze she asked him


    "What do you mean master."


    Realising he''d spoken aloud he looked a little embarrassed and started to explain to Miranda what he''d noticed.


    "Well I was just reading through this book and noticed that there was no reference to using two core glyphs in an array just that you should use an array."


    Thinking about what he said light dawned in Miranda''s eyes as she understood what he was talking about but then she posed another question.


    "What difference would it make?"


    Kyle in turn thought about this. She was right but he couldn''t help but think he was missing something, when finally it hit him and he began thinking aloud while Miranda just watched him narrate enjoying his explanation.


    "Each of the arrays in a formation has a specific purpose. Each array completes its purpose then adds its contribution to the whole. This means that if an array fails in its purpose it can affect the whole, but if you can complete multiple steps within an array and test it''s completed function before adding it to the formation there is less chance of a fault occurring and it would also mean debugging would be much easier. You could also include more controls within each array so there would be less chance of an explosive failure."


    As Kyle narrated he used a term ''debugging'' which Miranda didn''t understand but could guess due to what he was saying. Kyle for his part didn''t realise that he was mixing previous life knowledge with this world. His debugging reference and his ideas on the arrays and formations were related to when he looked at producing a web page using html. This was back in the day so it was really awkward and the last time he messed with code he found it much easier. He read up on this and found the code used a ''black box'' approach with code being used to an effect then being mixed with other ''black boxes'' to complete the project. Kyle then decided.


    "Righty ho, we are going to start an experiment."

 10 Chapter 10 Kyle Powell the science guy

    "Righty ho, we are going to start an experiment."


    Looking through the book once again Kyle decided to use 2 glyphs, 1 which has been used extensively this being the barrier glyph and the other being the shock glyph his mother used as a prank.


    The barrier glyph created a wall of mana which could block incoming mana attacks but couldn''t do any physical damage. The shock glyph if combined should make the barrier like an electric fence, lightly shocking those who get close. Kyle thought this would be useful for hunters because if they could deploy this barrier in the field it would keep lower level beasts from raiding hunting camps during the night and improve the survivability of new hunters in low ranked areas.


    To start Kyle needed to ensure he could create the arrays, this wouldn''t be normally possible until people reached level 5 and started to specialise in their paths. Kyle didn''t think about this and Miranda didn''t question her lord and due to his kindness and insight, had started to have a little bit of idol worship going on.


    Concentrating on what he needed to do and looking for a means to produce the array Kyle found a mention in the book of ''array projection''. This is a means where the array master produces the array within their spirit realm and them projects it into the world using mana as a medium. This is a high level skill which is only mentioned in the book as a reference and a target for juniors to reach and they are not expected to be able to do this until they are at level 8. Even then some array masters cannot do this as the requirements are extremely taxing and was again related to the purity in the nodes of the master.


    Kyle''s mother was currently unable to use this skill as her node clearance and control is too low due to having to dually cultivate sorcerer and mage techniques at the same time. There isn''t a unified cultivation for the paths so Maria was using 2 techniques separately which meant she was progressing much slower than those people who focused on just 1 path.


    Kyle had a few advantages over other array masters, first was the power of his soul which allowed him to create the array much faster than others which meant less strain on his concentration and mana, also with his soul sight he could see the array he was creating within his realm while others had to project their memory of the array with utmost concentration so that there were no mistakes. This is also why a lot of array masters would have an array in cast metal or have it engraved and then channel their energy into the array to produce it.


    Kyle not knowing any of this dove into his spirit realm and began creating his first array. The core glyph was created with ease but as he began on the control glyphs the array failed. Normally Kyle should have suffered a backlash when this failed but due to all his nodes being cleared this was dispersed to the point he suffered no adverse reaction.


    Looking back on his mistake Kyle realised he had misunderstood what one of the control glyphs purpose was meaning when it was produced it didn''t function properly. Kyle reckoned this was why soul energy was used in addition to mana, as the same glyph could represent different functions or concepts depending on the interpretation of the master who produced it. The array master must fully comprehend why each glyph was used and using soul energy to input this intention in the glyph it would function correctly.


    Kyle conjectured that due to the function being determined by intention the glyphs are themselves superfluous, but by using a language as the base it was easier to input the needed intent in the array. Dismissing this line of thought Kyle once again focused on his task and restarted his practice.


    Trying and failing again and again Kyle only succeeded on his sixth attempt. Kyle was unhappy with how many times it took him to produce the array and thought that maybe he had no talent in this area, however if his mother heard this she would either want to kiss his feet or slap him around the head as it took her close to 200 tries to produce a simple array which only had 5 control glyphs whereas Kyle''s first array needed over 20 control glyphs. It must also be known that Kyle''s mother was considered a prodigy as most array masters take between 300-400 tries on their first array and all start by using cast arrays on their early attempts.


    Once the array was stabilised Kyle released the array into the air. With the range Kyle had set the Barrier covered him and Miranda and grew to a five meter diameter and lasted for five minutes before dissipating. Kyle could have made the array last longer but it wouldn''t serve any purpose. To make an array last for longer he would have to supply more mana to it or apply it to a conductive substance with a mana source attached.


    Kyle then began to practice the shock array which after his first attempt at the barrier array which was considered amongst the most difficult low level arrays, was much easier to produce. The shock array when activated created a static field around Kyle. Miranda was a bit too close to Kyle when he activated the array and received a little jolt. She looked at Kyle with a wronged expression on her face.


    "Sorry I wasn''t expecting the field to reach so far."


    Kyle tried to apologize while explaining as Miranda was currently his most useful and faithful helper. Miranda on hearing and seeing Kyle''s apologetic look lost her sour expression and just responded.


    "It''s okay I know you didn''t mean it."


    Miranda was still too young to realize that as a noble and possible leader of the city, Kyle had no reason or need to apologise to a commoner like her. Even though Kyle had memories of being a noble his previous life was far longer and he always treated people with respect if he was given it in turn.


    Concentrating once more Kyle began to focus on how to merge these 2 different arrays. He could think of a couple of different ways to do this. Maybe he should overlay one array on top of the other or he could create a new glyph to do both as he found that intent was the most important thing in producing an array.


    In the end Kyle just decided to go simple and in the centre circle where the control glyph should go he drew a line down the centre of it to separate the two glyphs and when producing the control glyphs for both he wrote them on either side of the circle. This first attempt when released failed. The barrier was raised but rather than being a shock barrier, it cast the shock wave out from the barrier in a visible wave of electricity. Fortunately this was cast out from the barrier sparing Kyle from receiving Miranda''s look again.


    Kyle knew this should work as his intent was correct but he was missing something. Pondering on this he was quiet for a few minutes, until Miranda decided to ask what was going on.


    "Master can I help, I know I''m just a commoner but it may help to talk if you''re stuck. At least that is what my mum says."


    Hearing this made Kyle smile to himself.


    "Really my mum says the same thing. I''m struggling to get these 2 arrays to work together. I can see they are working independently and they are both working when put together but they don''t want to mix with each other."


    Miranda began to think about what Kyle said.


    "Maybe it like cooking, some ingredients don''t want to mix so you have to add another ingredient for them to mix properly."


    Kyle smiled at Miranda''s ideas, comparing arrays to cooking. However as he thought about this he realised that it was rather apt. The array was working like oil and water and would need another element to merge together.


    "I''m a fool! Thank you Miranda I think you''ve given me a clue."


    Grabbing Miranda''s hand again Kyle thanked her profusely for her input as this may be what he was missing. Miranda was happy seeing Kyle''s joy and only realised he had taken her hand again after a few seconds making her turn red again.


    Kyle for his part didn''t think too much about it and after a little while let her hand go and went back to work. Miranda was slightly disappointed when he dropped her hand but was then confused by her own thought and just decided to not worry about it and let it fall to the back of her mind.


    Kyle once again began working on the shock array, when the array was laid out he created a space in the control glyphs in line with the divide separating the 2 core glyphs. At both of these points at the top and bottom he put the glyph for ''merge'' and the direction he intended the glyphs to run was from the ''barrier'' to the ''shock'' and back to the ''barrier'' in a circle with no breaks. This was so that neither ''shock'' or ''barrier'' could override the other and both would function while the mana lasted.


    Finally ready to try his new array, Kyle projected the array and activated it. The barrier went up and then distorted slightly as the shock began moving through it. Seeing that it had worked and was holding up Kyle was ecstatic. Now comes the final test, moving towards the barrier, Kyle tensed himself and finally reached out to touch it.


    When Kyle''s hand came in contact with the barrier, a small pop was heard and Kyle hissed a little bit. The shock had worked, it wasn''t really painful and was as intended no different than a standard static shock. Kyle had only hissed due to the expectation of pain but to him now it meant almost nothing, but he had done it. This new array was the beginning and with this new means of array creation it meant he had something the array masters guild would be desperate for meaning he should be able to get what he needs most which was time.


    The array eventually dissipated leaving a happy Kyle and a surprised Miranda standing in the room. Finally Miranda came back to herself and looked at the window letting out a shout.


    "Master we''re late for dinner your mother won''t be happy!"

 11 Chapter 11 Whos hungry

    "Master we''re late for dinner your mother won''t be happy!"


    Realising his mistake Kyle jolted into action and rushed into his bedroom to get changed. In this world people usually used loose robes for training like those seen in old kung fu movies while the day to day clothing of nobles and the upper level of society was similar to that worn by 15th century nobility in Europe. This included tights for men, Kyle saw this clothing and thought ''hell no'' and started rifling through his closet to find something more to his taste. Eventually he found some loose trousers similar to khakis and a shirt which unfortunately had slightly ruffled collar and cuffs.


    This created a strange impression and he wouldn''t have looked out of place in a 1980''s music video. Ignoring this Kyle finished dressing and left his room to see Miranda pacing around waiting for him. Seeing Kyle was finally out Miranda looked at him strangely as what he was wearing wasn''t what he would usually wear to dinner with his family.


    "Are you sure you wish to attend dinner dressed like that master?"


    "Yes Miranda I''m sure. Also could you remind me to speak to the tailor and blacksmith tomorrow as I have some things to order from them."


    "Of course master I will make sure to remind you in the morning."


    Nodding his head Kyle had decided to have some new clothes made to his taste and with regards to the blacksmith, he''d decided to have a few weapons and some armour made rather than use what already existed in the market.


    Finally Kyle was ready to head to dinner and meet his new family for the first time. Walking down the long hallways towards the dining hall, Kyle and Miranda passed a few servants who seeing Kyle heading towards the dining hall dressed as he was began whispering to each other. Miranda began looking around at these gossiping servants and started to worry if weird rumours may start circulating about her master. Kyle realizing Miranda''s unrest just quietly took her hand and whispered in her ear.


    "Don''t worry about them, let them say what they want as it doesn''t affect me."


    Kyle then let go of Miranda''s hand and continued towards the dining hall. What Miranda didn''t realise was that the servants were whispering about her as she was walking next to her master rather than the customary 2 steps behind. One of the servants who saw this was one of Miranda''s teachers. She decided that at the next opportunity she would need to educate Miranda in the correct decorum of a servant of a noble house.


    Reaching the dining hall Kyle saw a pair of large doors with guards stood outside. These guards were 2 first stage eighth level warriors who were equipped with hard leather armour and armed with a seven foot long claymore sword. When the guards saw Kyle approaching their eyebrows raised as they saw what he was wearing. As Kyle approached the doors the guards turned and pushed the doors open allowing Kyle and Miranda to enter.


    The dining hall was without a doubt massive. There were a series of twenty foot long tables arranged across the hall, all filled with various members of the family. These members were a mixture of all ages from young to old, but there was a definite separation within the different groups.


    The group who was closest to the door were from the outer families, these being those who had married into the house or were otherwise ostracised because of a lower cultivation realm. These people usually dealt in the day to day running of the businesses the family owned. The next group were the stronger members of the family. These people were usually members of the guards or people who trained the younger generation in the hopes of producing a new talent.


    Finally at the highest point of the hall the upper echelon of the family was located. These included of course Kyle''s parents and his uncles and cousins, but it also included the strongest members of the family including captains and lieutenants of the guard and also some elders who had earned their place in the family.


    As Kyle entered the hall everyone paused and turned to look at who the latecomer was. Seeing that it was the scion of the family many emotions erupted from the crowd. Due to his empathic sense Kyle was assaulted by these different emotions but some were stronger than others. The strongest of these feelings were pity, regret, anger and condescension the most worrying however was a sense of malice. With all of these feelings coming at him Kyle couldn''t locate where this was coming from until it suddenly disappeared as if it was never there.


    Kyle was confused by the appearance and then sudden disappearance of this malice, thinking about it this was probably from however poisoned him and as they''ve hidden in the family for so long they must have an unbelievable control of their emotions. Taking this as a cue Kyle took control of this sense and blocked out the noise. He would use this ability when speaking with one person or with a small group, but with this many people it was just too confusing and overwhelming.


    Kyle started to walk towards the head table where his seat was, looking around him he saw many people were still staring at him and laughing behind their hands. In one of these groups which Kyle saw was made up of children from the outer families, was a kid about the same age as him but being a bit bulkier staring at him intently while another was whispering in his ear. Kyle could see something strange in the eyes of the kid staring at him while the kid whispering in his ear had a thin face reminding Kyle of a ferret.


    At this point the bulky kid stood up and started moving towards him at a quick pace. Wondering what was going on Kyle halted his steps and waited for the youth to approach. When he was only around ten feet away from Kyle the youth stopped and stared, finally he spoke.


    "Good evening do you know who I am?"


    Thinking for a moment Kyle struggled to draw up a memory of this kid. The previous Kyle didn''t really associate with many of the other children as he was concentrating fully on breaking out of his bottleneck. After running through his memories for a moment Kyle remembered a young member of the outer families who he trained with when they were younger. This youngster didn''t have much in the way of resources but was determined and driven to be more than his parents who were only shopkeepers.


    "Are you Bruno who I used to train with?"


    "Yes it''s good you remember me. You used to look down on me because I''m from the outer family, but look at us now I''m already in the third level and you still aren''t even in the first."


    Hearing this Kyle was confused as he never looked down on Bruno and in fact had considered him one of his only friends, until Bruno entered the first level and went to further training. Kyle then remembered the ferret whispering in Bruno''s ear before he came over and he believed someone was trying to cause problems. Whether this was related to the poisoner or not Kyle wasn''t sure but he didn''t think so as this seemed to be clumsier than dangerous.


    "I think you must be mistaken about something, I''ve never looked down on you."


    "Lies! I''ve heard what you been saying about me so fight me."


    Looking towards Bruno''s clique Kyle could see the ferret looking over with a look of satisfaction on his face as he was about to see one of the children of the upper level get beaten up while he wouldn''t receive any punishment. None of the older generation intervened as this is a battle oriented world and the children needed to fight to get stronger. Kyle''s mother was about to intervene but was held back by her husband. She looked at him in anger to which he just said.


    "He''s different today let''s see what he can do."


    Bruno cycled his mana and began to execute his ''tyrant fist'' skill while starting to rush towards Kyle. Kyle for his part just looked at Bruno, as he came closer he seemed to slow down. It was similar to bullet time from the movies in his last life. Confused Kyle quickly inspected himself and found that he had subconsciously cycled his mana into the third node in his brain. ''This node must govern reaction times and reflexes''. Regardless as Bruno got closer Kyle remembered the Aikido lessons he''d taken in his last life. There are no true martial arts in this world as they use skills to make up for the shortfall, however if you had a Bruce Lee or a Mike Tyson who also cultivated nobody in the nearest few levels would be able to compete.


    When Bruno''s fist was less than 8 inches from Kyle''s face, Kyle brought his hand up and caught Bruno''s wrist. Pulling his wrist around Kyle pivoted moving closer to Bruno putting him off balance finally pulling his wrist down and then back Kyle flipped Bruno in the air. Bruno came crashing down onto the stone floor being winded and confused. A few of the people were cheering when Bruno attacked as they thought they would see a good show from the newest rising star, only to see him put down without any skills or mana. This confused everyone in the hall because how can you defeat a skill without using one to counter. Kyle ignored all this and continued towards his parents table while turning to Miranda and said.


    "I wonder what''s for dinner I''m getting quite hungry."

 12 Chapter 12 An awkward dinner

    "I wonder what''s for dinner I''m getting quite hungry."


    Saying this Kyle continued to move towards his table while the rest of the hall was stunned, but gradually there was a murmur passing through the crowd.


    "How did he do that?"


    "Isn''t Bruno almost to the third level?"


    "Who ate my bread?"


    Bruno was lying on the stone floor looking up at the ceiling. He was stunned and winded from being thrown down and his mind was in disarray as he knew Kyle hadn''t used any skills to defeat him. Coming to a decision Bruno clambered to his feet and rushed towards Kyle.


    Kyle sensed someone coming up behind him and prepared himself to engage Bruno again. Once Bruno was within a meter of Kyle he stopped and said.


    "Young lord please wait."


    He bowed down to Kyle shocking the crowd once again. Kyle turned to Bruno and everyone could see the confusion in his eyes. Looking at this young man Kyle motioned for him to stand properly and asked.


    "What can I do for you? I''m looking forward to my dinner right now."


    "I''m sorry for attacking you but hearing what you''ve said about my family I got angry and wanted revenge, but seeing your ability I''m hoping you can show me how you did that."


    "I have no problem sparing with you as that would probably help us both. Also just so you''re aware I never have and never would insult your family, don''t you remember when we were younger and your parents looked after us both when my parents were too busy?"


    As both of Kyle''s parents were leading members of the family their duties regularly prevented them from spending time with Kyle when he was younger. As Bruno was his only friend his parents usually were delegated to look after him, he treated them as if they were his close relatives rather than outer family members. When Kyle said this, Bruno was first happy as he would have a sparring partner who could show him a new method of combat, however when he heard the second part he was at first confused and people could see him furiously thinking and then coming to a realisation. Bruno turned and glowered at the other kids from his clique, seeing this they became worried especially the ferret as they all knew Bruno was far stronger than them and pain would be incoming.


    All this fell into Kyle''s eyes and he couldn''t help but smile as from what he remembered about Bruno was he was quick tempered, blunt as a brick and a little bit slow on the uptake, you know the stereotypical meathead who people can manipulate. His plus points are his loyalty and his perseverance as can be shown from his cultivation progress and his anger when he thought he was betrayed by Kyle.


    Kyle smiled at Bruno and held out his hand to him.


    "Friends?"


    Looking at Kyle''s hand Bruno extended his and clasped it. When their hands made contact Kyle entered Bruno''s spirit realm in his accelerated time seeing what the situation in there was. As before the first level was in much the same condition as his mothers was with clogged nodes and minimal mana flowing through. Looking at the next level it was darker but Kyle could see the gate was open but it was much less open than the first gate so the mana flow was further constrained. Looking beyond towards the third gate Kyle could see mana building up behind it and the gate had cracked open. This must have been due to the burst and disturbance of mana during the previous fight. The backlash from having his skill disrupted flooded back and gave enough push to crack the third gate.


    Having shaken hands Kyle and Bruno parted ways after organising a training session at Kyle''s private compound tomorrow. Kyle had his own training area connected to his courtyard which was separate from the general training ground where Bruno trained previously. This suited Kyle as he would be practicing and teaching Miranda the martial arts he knew from his previous life. Kyle was by no means an expert but with his new mind and body he seemed to be able to grasp what he couldn''t previously and could see what he needed to do.


    Kyle had also decided to break through tonight as after seeing Bruno''s progress he had thought of a way to shed himself of the chains blocking his progress. Eventually Kyle reached his parents table and greeted them.


    "Hello mum, dad."


    Kyle''s father was looking at him with a rarely seen smile on his face and as usual his mother was looking at him with motherly concern.


    "Are you okay he didn''t manage to hurt you did he??"


    Hearing his mother Kyle looked at his father with a wry smile on his face while his father returned his smile with a shrug and a look of resignation on his face. She would always worry about her son even if there was nothing to worry about.


    "He''s fine dear didn''t you see how he handled Bruno. Well done by the way son."


    "Yes it must be reassuring to have a father who will spend so many resources to make their son as physically strong as a second level while having no talent."


    The person who spoke in this manner was none other than Kyle''s eldest uncle Harris Powell. Harris was in charge of some of the administration of the family and also settled disputes between the outer families while inner family disputes had to be settled by Kyle''s father Landon. Kyle focused his perception on his uncle and activated his empathic sense to get a beat on this relative. By dismissing the other feelings coming from the rest of the hall he could sense in this uncle there was a sense of regret, condescension and disappointment. This was a weird combination and Kyle would have to think on this at a later date.


    Responding to his brother Landon focused his gaze on Harris and exerted the pressure only those with a high level of mana can exert.


    "Harris as you are fully aware all of Kyle''s resources were purchased using my personal funds. I have not and never will use the families resources outside of the rules laid down by our fore fathers. If you would like to take account of the division of resources between all of our people should we look at your family to start?"


    Although Landon didn''t raise his voice, it passed through the hall unhindered. Everyone became silent upon feeling the pressure was exerting and his brother was receiving the brunt. This pressure isn''t like gravity which only pulls you down it was more like the pressure at the depths of the ocean were you''re simultaneously crushed from all directions at once.


    Harris was sweating under the pressure but he held on as he didn''t wish to appear weak to the members of the family, but he couldn''t resist and finally bowed.


    "I''m sorry brother, I''ll take my leave for now."


    Saying this Harris quickly left the hall as he didn''t want to listen to the murmurs from the rest of the family. Finally with this out the way Kyle sat down and began to eat while as his maid Miranda stood behind him. Seeing her standing like that Kyle felt sorry for her. Taking a plate and putting a portion of food on it, he passed it to her and said.


    "It''s okay, go have your dinner I''ll see you in the morning."


    Taking the plate Miranda looked at Kyle''s parents asking for permission. Kyle''s mother seeing this just smiled and said.


    "Kyle is your master, if he says so it is okay."


    Happy to be able to have her dinner and see her family earlier than usual Miranda bowed and then bolted away. Smiling when he saw this Kyle then turned and looked at his parents who were both grinning at him. Slightly confused by their expression he tilted his head.


    "So Kyle do you like your maid." His father asked with a raised eyebrow.


    Hearing this Kyle got his implication and started to cough violently grabbing a cup from the table and gulped down some water. Looking back at his father with watering eyes his eyes took a vengeful glint and responded with.


    "Really father I''m only eight, but your new maid is interesting she''s very pretty and only just turned 20."


    Hearing this Kyle''s father froze then turned slowly to Maria who at this point was boring holes into the back of his head with her eyes. Gulping slightly Landon opened his mouth to say something Maria cut him off.


    "We''ll talk about this tonight."


    Landon could only nod his head and wonder where he got such a vicious son from. Maria wasn''t worried about her husband being unfaithful a she knew he loved her with a passion and she responded in equal measure which was unusual in the nobility. So she only needed to remind him who he was married to. Avoiding his parents teasing by throwing Landon under the bus, Kyle slowly finished his meal while listening to the conversations around him while not including himself in them.


    "Well I''m off see you in the morning."


    Heading back to his rooms Kyle new this would be an interesting night and hopefully he will be able to breakthrough.

 13 Chapter 13 Breakthrough

    Heading back to his rooms Kyle new this would be an interesting night and hopefully he will be able to breakthrough.


    The reason for Kyle''s sudden push to breakthrough was twofold. Firstly that malicious intent when he first entered the dining hall had him worried. If the source of this intent decided to move openly Kyle didn''t have any means to resist and even a low level guard could currently kill him. Secondly when he saw Bruno start to breakthrough he realised this was from a backlash of mana not being released and impacting the gate. Using this as a basis Kyle thought he could replicate this consciously due to his ability to control his mana. It was like causing a wave and letting it hit the rocks, breaking them down.


    Reaching his rooms Kyle closed the entrance and sealed it using an array his mother had installed in the door. This meant only authorised people could enter, these were his mother, father and Miranda as he removed all other permissions as a precaution. The array used the mana signature of the person trying to access the door as the key. If the mana didn''t match the door would remain sealed.


    Going into his cultivation room Kyle settled himself and started to prepare to attack the barrier he was barred by. The first thing Kyle did was to send as much of his mana into his nodes lowering the amount of mana he had in his main channel. As the mana level in his channel began to lower Kyle began breathing in a specific rhythm. This was the breathing technique from the ''breath of Ares'', it was similar to breathing exercises divers do before going down increasing the capacity of the lungs. In the case of this technique this increase in air intake meant the amount of mana which can be drawn into the body increases.


    Due to Kyle''s chest node being clear the amount of mana was increased again and the flow entering his channel began to fill at a surprising rate. If some of the trainers or elders could compare the flow of mana they would realise it was averaging 8 times more than the flow others would have within the first stage. This wasn''t due to the breathing technique as between the different methods there wasn''t an appreciable difference, instead the difference comes from the mobilization technique as this is when the mana is sent through the nodes.


    Carrying on with his cultivation Kyle watched as his channel carried on filling. It reached the point which broke the previous Kyle, but as his channel had been forcefully enlarged he could carry on filling the channel. Kyle had a decision to make at this moment. Would he carry on filling the main channel which could take several weeks to fill, or should he give it a go with what he''s got and hope the mana stored within his nodes can assist in the breakthrough.


    Deciding to give it a go right away, Kyle first used the method to breakthrough which is shown in the ''breath of Ares''. Taking the energy in the main channel, Kyle drew it back from the gate and then let it loose. This wave of mana impacted the gate with great force making it shudder and bulge inwards. The chains moved however pulling everything back to the same state it was in before. In accordance with the instructions Kyle kept putting force into his mana pushing against the bottleneck, but after the initial impact of the surge of mana regardless of how much force he applied, there was no movement from the gate. This proved what Kyle thought, he couldn''t progress due to the chains. Preparing for his next attempt Kyle drew away his mana and once again began piling it up.


    As his mana continued to grow he began to siphon off the mana from his nodes. He wasn''t taking enough to outpace their replenishment but it increased the growth of his mana in his main channel giving him a better chance of making some progress. Kyle carried on with this process for another 4 hours in real time. By this time he had increased the mana in his main channel by another 10 percent or so. Thinking that now is probably as good a chance as any to try again, Kyle compressed the mana in his main channel as far as possible. He could only do this by using his soul force to surround the mana and move it as low as possible.


    While Kyle was controlling his main channel he increased the siphoning from his nodes until he far outpaced the refresh rate. This caused an unexpected phenomena, once the mana in his nodes ran out the mana from his sub-nodes began to move to his main channel. This was a great help as his mana was growing at an exponential rate, but the sub-nodes didn''t seem to want to run out.


    As Kyle was in his spiritual realm he wasn''t paying attention to the real world. If he was he would have realised that as he was trying to draw all the mana from the sub nodes they in turn were drawing mana from the atmosphere through his skin. This rate of absorption was far beyond what has ever been seen previously. This flow of mana could actually be felt physically causing those who were cultivating themselves to be shocked by the mana leaving them.


    Kyle''s father was one of those who were trying to cultivate. Sensing the mana becoming thin he stopped his training and looked out of the window. Seeing a few of his family members wondering around the grounds of their estate he became less worried. It didn''t appear as if there were any adverse affects on the people and it only affected those who were cultivating at that precise moment in time. Deciding to check again in the morning Landon turned to his wife who was currently sleeping in their bed. Smiling to himself he climbed into bed beside her and decided to show her his affection once more.


    Returning to Kyle, he decided that now would be as good a time as any. The mana in his main channel was brimming and with the power he drew from his sub-nodes he didn''t think he would get a better chance than this. He began to agitate his mana moving it back and forth in as small an area of his main channel as possible. By imparting this energy to the mana it should further increase the power when it impacts his gates.


    Finally ready Kyle unleashed the full force he has drawn. The mana exploded out from his control flowing through his main channel like a tsunami. The force of this mana was so great it affected the real world with the temperature dropping and a gust of wind blasting from Kyle''s body. The rampant mana blasted through the main channel towards the gate, as the mana was flowing through the channel it began to cause mild damage to Kyle''s body due to imparted energy being too much to contain even with his reinforced channel. Kyle exerted his soul force on this mana to lower the damage and also to direct all that force to the gate.


    As the wave reached the gate it smashed against it with much more force than previously. This level of mana should be somewhere around a sixth level cultivator. This isn''t to say Kyle was as powerful as a sixth level as he couldn''t exert all this power without the addition and control from his soul force. The gate itself once more bowed inwards, creaking under the strain. Once again the chains pulled in trying to contain the force and pull the gates back but with a snap one of the chains fell. As Kyle was treating his mana like a wave he pulled it back once the first chain broke, like the tide receding. Pulling back a little energy once again flowed into the wave driving it to the gate once again.


    As the wave blasted into the gate once again, the chains pulled again but they were weakened by the last impact and finally succumbed to this unstoppable force. With the fall of the chains the gate finally burst. But rather that just open as Kyle was expecting, the gate exploded under the force of his mana.


    "Well damn."

 14 Chapter 14 Its good to be alive

    "Well damn."


    Looking at the new level that had been opened up Kyle could see that the new section of his channel was about twice the length of the previous section, so this meant if previously the length was 1 the overall length of the channel would be 3. However the width of the previous section was far wider than the new section.


    As there was no gate in place anymore the mana flow wasn''t restricted so the mana from his first section was freely entering the second section. As the mana flowed into the second section it underwent a change. As Kyle watched the mana density increased as he had seen in his mothers channel previously, so the most likely scenario is that as mana enters the next level it undergoes a change allowing skills to be more powerful or to be used repeatedly.


    The change however didn''t stop at the mana which was now located in the first level. As he watched the change went back against the flow changing the mana still in the previous section and in his opened nodes. Thinking on this Kyle believed the gate operates valve preventing the evolution of mana affecting what was behind it but as Kyle broke his gate his mana was all evolved to the more powerful form.


    Also within the first level Kyle was able to locate a new group of nodes and sub-nodes. The new nodes totalled 16 bringing up the overall level of nodes to 24 and the total number of sub-nodes to 192. Unlike the nodes he had already opened and expanded these were once again clogged. As for expanding and clearing these nodes and widening his main channel, Kyle decided to take his time and do this within a training cycle as he didn''t want to push his body to far in case it started to break down. This isn''t to say he would need to be as slow as others as with his soul sight he could cheat a bit and push it further without risking damaging himself.


    Curious to see how the cultivation methods already in use affected his new level, Kyle did a cycle of the ''breath of Ares'' and ''heavenly deliverance'' as they were the highest rated methods within the family they may have an effect on the new nodes. While both when cycled did pass through a few of the new nodes, it was nowhere near complete. ''Breath of Ares'' passed through 4 of the new nodes and ''heavenly deliverance'' only passed through an additional 2. Kyle knew he would need adjust the new technique he was creating to include the new nodes. It came to him it would probably be best to separate the technique itself into levels like cultivation itself is, so there would be no mana wasted trying to cycle through areas where there are no nodes.


    Kyle already had level 0 down as he had trialled this with Miranda, so he began working on level 1. Cycling through the new nodes in the same way he had shown Miranda previously, by looping the mana and leaving some mana in each node he began the process of developing his personal technique. As he used the previous techniques as the basis for his new one Kyle decided to call it ''breath of deliverance''. Unlike the previous techniques the new technique would be built in stages. This meant that rather than dismissing the previous level you would add to the cycle at each level if the quantity of nodes kept increasing.


    Kyle would also need to experiment with the sub-nodes to see how they operated in conjunction with each other and separately. Thinking of the maths involved in this Kyle realised that working this all out would take an impossibly long time, luckily there was already a large number of skills which would give him a jumping of point. Thinking about this started to give him a headache, so he decided that he''d note the locations of the sub-nodes and just see how it goes.


    Kyle would also need to check his parents and see how they cultivated. If this new technique was compatible with them even being in the second stage, he could empower his parents far beyond the other families in the city and become a dominant factor and may even eventually be able to contend with the imperial family. This would take time as Kyle had no doubt they could become more powerful over time but the imperial family and their supporters were fully entrenched with a massive foundation, were as Kyle''s family may be a local behemoth but in the face of the upper families were only waiting to be stepped on.


    While running through these permutations Kyle realised he needed to expand his testing, in particular he needed higher level warriors to see if they could change their techniques and if there would be any adverse effects from opening nodes unconnected to their current path. Deciding on this course of action Kyle decided to ask his father about prisoners or people on death row that would suit his purpose, but even these would need to be vetted as once he trained them they would become his people and his guards. Once you were one of Kyle''s people he wouldn''t turn away from them so they must be the right people.


    With all of this Kyle would also need to separate a little from his parents as currently he lived in the same manor as them but within the Powell compound there were many manors. Each manor was taken by a family and as the heir to the family he was well within his rights to claim one for himself although this would usually be done when he was a little older. Doing this Kyle could train his own guards and servants without relying on those provided by his parents and he could conduct his experiments away from prying eyes.


    Feeling much better about his self Kyle began cycling his new ''breath of deliverance'' technique to see what new abilities he may awaken. After running through the new technique a few times and beginning the process of clearing his newly found nodes, Kyle began to cough pulling out of his concentration. This was a horrendous and hacking cough, it was so bad he thought he may cough up blood before long. After a particularly painful episode Kyle could feel something coming up his throat. Thinking he was going to vomit he panicked and looking around he saw an empty water jug on the side. In all the chaos in the last few hours Miranda appeared to have forgotten to replace it. Rushing over to it he grabbed it and vomited into it. However this wasn''t any food or bile, instead what he had thrown up was an iridescent blue blob. It looked similar to jelly. Kyle was confused as to what this could be.


    Running through his memories he couldn''t think of anything like this ever being mentioned. It may be a parasite but why did he suddenly cough it up? As he was focused on this weird thing his soul sight kicked in. Surprised by this Kyle as previously he couldn''t see outside of himself unless he was in contact with what he was scanning. He chose not to worry about this and just chalked it up to him breaking through increasing his powers.


    Returning to his improved soul sight Kyle observed the blob to try and work out what it was. Looking at its physical composition Kyle could see it was composed of several different plants. He couldn''t identify which types of plants these were but with his improved memory he would just remember how they appeared and would scan plants to build up a library of them in his head. This lead to his first interest in alchemy as they deal with plants and potions. Looking further into this compound and reaching a spiritual level Kyle was surprised to find the compound contained a great deal of mana which was compressed into multiple layers. Each of these layers when exposed to his sight began to change form, finally they appeared to him as chains.


    "This must be the remnants of the poison."


    Realising that what was held in the jug was the remnants of the poison which had blocked his progress Kyle made some theories. Firstly the poison must have been in the form of a potion rather than an array or curse as no array or spell would leave a residue like this. As for why he spat out these remnants, he believed this was due to him having cycled his new technique as quite a number of the new nodes were located around his torso and if his impression is correct, these strengthened his organs allowing him to cast out these remnants.


    Finally free of this Kyle noticed the sun was beginning to rise. Smiling to himself he just muttered


    "It''s good to be alive."

 15 Chapter 15 Breakfast at the parents

    "It''s good to be alive."


    Thinking it''s about time to start getting ready for the day ahead Kyle moved to his bathroom. All he could say was thank god that arrays allowed for showers and toilets in this world. If he had to squat and use a rag to wipe his butt he may just kill his self and hope to find a better transmigration next time.


    Once he had finished cleaning himself up, Kyle began to plan his day. Firstly he would have breakfast with his parents as he wanted to speak to his father and mother about some issues. He would also see if they knew anything about the poison he''d ingested, he didn''t have much hope they would know about it but at least he could keep them informed.


    Secondly Kyle wanted to see the craftsmen of the family, namely the blacksmith and tailor as he didn''t want to look like a reject from a period drama and the weapons everyone used didn''t suit his taste. In Kyle''s memory he had an understanding of a few martial arts which he assumed he learnt in his last life. In these memories he found a certain love for Kendo and Shin Kendo which was Japanese sword fighting. With the current level of swordsmanship and the swords that are used he wouldn''t be able to use what he remembered so he''d decided to speak to the blacksmith to see if he could produce a katana or a ninjato (Japanese straight sword).


    Lastly Kyle had an appointment to start training with Bruno. He decided to start by seeing how Bruno currently trained and he would adapt the training to suit what he knew of systematic training, also with his soul sight he should be able to gear the training in the most efficient way possible allowing for a much more refined training regime. He would also include Miranda in this training so she could get stronger and he hoped she could help him in the future.


    Deciding on what he would be doing for today Kyle got dressed in a standard training robe. Even this training robe didn''t suit his preference but at least he wasn''t required to wear tights. Once he was dressed he only had to wait for five minutes until Miranda arrived.


    "Good morning master." Miranda greeted Kyle with a shy smile.


    "Good morning, let''s get a move on we''ve got a full day ahead of us."


    Kyle led Miranda out of his room and headed towards his parent''s rooms after passing her a vial which he had transferred the poison to from the water jug. As they had additional rooms attached to their bedroom, they usually had breakfast there rather than in the dining hall. The majority of the family was expected to meet for dinner as this was a tradition within the family in order to strengthen the ties between the different parts of the family.


    Thinking on this Kyle could only think of the different groups and cliques that were around the hall and the separation this caused. This gave Kyle an idea as the separation of the groups was due to social standing which in turn could give rise to discontent from within, rather than separating the tables based on social standing they should be separated by generation with no table above the others. This would give a view of equality at least during dinner and may also allow for bonds to be formed between those of different social classes bypassing the stigma viewed from associating with those lesser than you.


    Reaching his parents door Kyle knocked and waited for permission to enter. Even though he was new to this body he still didn''t want to walk in on his parents if they were ''on the job''. After a moment the door was opened and a distinguished older gentleman stood in the entrance.


    This older man was his father''s oldest servant and was the leader of the household staff. He had been employed by the family since his grandfather''s time and had also helped raise and train his father. This man was named Isaiah or as Kyle called him grandpa Is. Within the family Isaiah had a strange position, there was no formal rank for maids or butlers but everyone recognised that Isaiah was indispensible to the running of the household.


    "Hi grandpa Is I was hoping to have breakfast with my parents if they haven''t finished."


    Isaiah seeing who was at the door smiled and opening the door wider allowed Kyle to enter.


    "Of course young master. Your parents have only just sat down, I''m sure they would enjoy your company."


    Entering his parents rooms Kyle saw them sitting at a small dining table. His mother had her personal maid Shauna serving her while his father was being served by the new maid. When he entered the room Shauna smiled seeing who it was while the new maid scowled and Kyle could see a look of disgust flash through her eyes but it was quickly hidden. As he had never interacted with her, he became suspicious as she would be perfectly placed to hurt either of his parents.


    Kyle proceeded to sit at the table and proceeded to marshal his thoughts before beginning to speak to his parents.


    "I''m sorry father but I have some things to discuss with you, could you ask your maid to leave?"


    When Kyle asked this his father''s expression took on an odd cast, but thinking about the things his wife had told him last night he decided prudence may be the course. Waving his hand in dismissal the new maid bowed and turned to leave, as she was leaving she cast a look of anger towards Kyle which was in turn noticed by Isaiah. Shauna and Isaiah shared a look and Isaiah then spoke.


    "If you require privacy we should take our leave as well."


    "Wait grandpa Is, I just didn''t want those I can''t trust to hear our discussion."


    Hearing what Kyle said his parents were surprised by his action but decided to hear him out however Isaiah was impressed Kyle had picked up on the odd feeling from the new maid. Isaiah realising this may be a dangerous conversation turned to the door and locked it impressing Kyle with his instinct in this situation. Turning to his mother Kyle also said.


    "Mum can you also isolate us please."


    This shocked them further as the room was already warded to prevent spying but this was limited as there was a larger protection array over the whole array which would prevent interference while there were weaker sound isolation barriers over each room. By putting another barrier up this showed the lack of faith in people already inside the barrier. Thinking about the poisoning situation this may have been prudent. Isaiah was once again impressed by Kyle''s foresight.


    "Okay I think the first point of business we should discuss is grandpa Is."


    This caught everyone off guard as the tone of voice and start of the conversation wasn''t what anyone was expecting. Kyle''s father asked.


    "What would you like to discuss with regards to Isaiah?"


    "I would like to propose a promotion, we can create a new title for him. Let''s say we call him a steward rather than a butler. He will continue doing what he''s doing but it will officially give him authority over the other staff, some of the staff that are under the control of the elders will ignore what he needs them to do as he currently doesn''t have the authority to command them."


    Thinking about this Landon decided this would be a good idea as he has seen Isaiah doing duties others could do but as the others were commanded by the elders they superseded his orders. By putting Isaiah as the head of the household staff the elders would put in orders through Isaiah, creating a chain of command and it would also prevent the misappropriation of manpower.


    "This is a good idea, I''ll announce it tonight and make it formal."


    "Great dad I would also propose that the dining hall is rearranged so all tables are at the same level and the people are separated by generation rather than by social class so we can establish a stronger unity within the family."


    This idea caught Kyle''s parents by surprise as this isn''t how things are done. Both Landon and Maria were intelligent people and could immediately see the merits behind this. There may be some friction from the older generation but it should foster better relations in the younger generation. Landon looked at Isaiah and nodded.


    "I''ll see to it sir."


    "Okay and now I can get to the reason behind the security. Miranda can you pass me the vial I gave you."


    Miranda took the vial out of her pocket and passed it to Kyle. His parents looked at the jelly in the vial with some confusion but seeing the colours of it they couldn''t help but think ''pretty''.


    "I broke through last night. After I managed to break through the bottleneck I spat out this material. I''m assuming mother told you about my ability and I can say this is the poison that was preventing me from progressing."


    Maria was sat in shock as she first heard her boy had progressed allowing her to breathe easier as she always suspected it was her fault he couldn''t make any progress. She was further shocked that he managed to expel the poison. Landon however was thinking fast.


    "I''ve heard that sometimes when people breakthrough they can heal certain damages to their bodies so this isn''t to surprising, but I''ve never heard of a poison that can block people like this have you Maria?"


    Thinking for a moment Maria eventually shook her head as she wasn''t aware of anything like this either.


    "Okay I''ll just have to look into this slowly." Landon said as he had some contacts with the alchemist guild that he could trust.


    "Okay thanks dad. I''ve got one other thing to ask, I would like to organise my own mansion. I can''t trust most of the staff here as I don''t know who poisoned me so I would like to train my own people separately from the main house."


    Landon thought about this as he and Maria had staff they could give to Kyle which could be trusted but he would eventually have to raise his own group of people, so it made sense to start earlier.


    "Okay but we only have 1 mansion open in the estate it has space for about 30 servers and 10 guards. It has been in disuse for quite a while however so you''ll have to fix it up before you can use it properly. I''ll have Isaiah bring over some funds for the works you''ll need to do."


    Kyle couldn''t help but think to himself ''Ugh rich people'' but as he was one of them now this rang a little hollow. Remembering one other thing he wanted to queue up he looked towards his father again.


    "Dad I almost forgot, I''m using my ability to create a new cultivation technique. It''s progressing well but I need to see what effect it has on upper level cultivators. I don''t want to risk one of our people for an experiment but do we have anyone on imprisoned that would be willing to take the chance? Hopefully you have someone who can be trusted as if this works like it''s supposed to they would join my guards."


    Thinking about it Landon remembered one person in their custody who would fit the bill.


    "I know of someone who would suit your purposes. He was arrested for beating a little tyrant from one of the other families as he ordered his guards to burn a commoner family for not turning their daughter over to him. This guard took his family and the commoner family and came to our territory and turned himself over to us on the understanding we would protect his and the commoner families. I''ll have him sent to you later today."


    "Thanks again dad, what is this ex-guard''s name by the way?"


    "His name is Ash."


    After all the business was concluded Kyle enjoyed his breakfast with his parents while being cared for by the three servants. The new maid was now long forgotten.

 16 Chapter 16 A swift tailor

    After all the business was concluded Kyle enjoyed his breakfast with his parents while being cared for by the three servants. The new maid was now long forgotten.


    Once breakfast was over Kyle wanted to get a motor on and see the craftsmen but as he was leaving his mother Maria asked.


    "Oh by the way Kyle when do you want to start learning about arrays?"


    Kyle paused for a minute before saying to his mother.


    "Can we start tomorrow? I''m going to be a bit pushed for time today and I don''t want to rush this."


    Even though Kyle had gained a basic grasp of array mastery it would always be worth learning from a true adherent as they have been doing this for a long time. It wasn''t his fault he didn''t know that he was already using a skill and a new form of arrays that his mother couldn''t use yet.


    Thinking for a second Maria looked at Shauna as she also operated as her secretary and knew where she needed to be. Shauna smiled and just spoke on Maria''s behalf.


    "Can you go to your mother''s workshop at 2 in the afternoon?"


    "Of course I''ll see you then."


    Kyle then turned and left, heading towards the craftsman area of the estate. The Powell family estate covered around 60km squared with multiple zones and mansions spread around its area so it would take Kyle about 20 minutes to get to the craft zone.


    Kyle had decided to speak to the tailor first as this should be the easier of the 2 to organise. Walking into the craft zone Kyle and Miranda saw people rushing around with various items and materials in their hands. Cooks, leather workers, tailors, blacksmiths even a couple of pharmacists had quarters in this zone and their apprentices and workers were moving what they needed as fast as possible to avoid getting into trouble from being too slow.


    As they went deeper into the zone things became calmer as the further in you went the less storehouses there were and the more workshops there were. Arriving at the workshop of the chief tailor Kyle politely knocked on the door. After a moment an older woman with grey hair and a kind look on her face answered. This was Nettie chief tailor of the Powell family and a third grade rated tailor. This meant she was granted a certain level of respect within the family, about equal to a lieutenant in the guards.


    Seeing the two young children in front of her Nettie looked at them gently and asked.


    "What can I do for you today children?"


    Seeing this kindly old lady Kyle thought she was the archetypal grandmother figure. Deciding it would be best to get to the point he began to tell her his requirements.


    "Good afternoon, I''m hoping you are Nettie the chief tailor of the family. If so I have some requests if not could you kindly direct me to her thank you."


    While Kyle was pretty sure this was Nettie he had never directly met her as previously an apprentice would take his measurements and the clothes would be delivered later. Hearing what Kyle said Nettie figured this boy was probably after some new style or fashion that was becoming popular. Looking at the clothes he was already wearing she scowled slightly and asked.


    "Why do you require new clothes? Your training clothes look fine and I haven''t had word from any family members for special orders."


    "My training clothes are fine at the moment but I would like some new day to day clothes and new hunting equipment."


    Hearing about the hunting equipment both Nettie and Miranda were surprised. Nettie because of how young Kyle appeared to be and Miranda because this is the first time she had heard of this. Curious as to whom this young boy was Nettie asked him.


    "What is your name young man? I haven''t seen you before and you should know that I can only take orders from those at captain level or higher."


    "Ahh forgive me I should have introduced myself earlier. I''m Kyle Powell, Landon Powell''s son."


    Hearing him say this Nettie was shocked by how polite this scion was but then became nervous. The Powell family never abused their position within the city but if Kyle wanted to make her life difficult he could easily do it, even losing her the position she currently held.


    "Sorry young master I didn''t realise it was you."


    "Don''t worry about it. Can we go inside as I would like to discuss the designs?"


    Nettie stepped back into her workshop, she was rather impressed with this young boy as he spoke to her as an equal rather than as a servant which many members of the family spoke to the crafters like in particular the younger members as they were sheltered by the family and didn''t understand that a family could only grow and flourish if all members felt valued and cared about. Kyle did this on instinct as this was how he had always dealt with people and it was ingrained to the bone.


    Walking over to an easel they began to discuss what Kyle wanted for his clothing. For day to day wear Kyle wanted something like cargo trousers and t shirts. As Nettie began to sketch this out Kyle pointed out a few alterations and the plans started to come together and they looked similar enough to what existed in his past life. These were made using a material similar to cotton but once this was processed correctly the material would retain its flexibility but would be about 1.5 times stronger. The materials used in training clothes were stronger than this as they were expected to be used in combat. He would also have boots made from soft leather with strong soles. The leather for these came from demon beasts so even though it was soft leather they would still be incredibly strong by our standards.


    Once Kyle had his day clothes planned he began to instruct Nettie on the clothing for important or special occasions. For this he decided to look at a suit, he decided on a single breasted suit and a long sleeved shirt. These were to be made from silk, the silk used for these came from a species of giant spider which was bred and housed at the outskirts of the city. Upon hearing this Kyle felt a little itchy but decided to ignore and carry on shopping. With the suit he also planned some nice shoes which would be dyed leather. Seeing the design Kyle couldn''t help but think ''clothes make the man''.


    Once these designs were finalised Kyle asked if Nettie could produce 3 sets of each and retain the plans in case he wanted more. Nettie said these should be ready in 2-3 days as she would have some of the other workshops help her in the production. Looking at these plans Nettie was highly impressed as they were really different from what others wore but they looked good. Miranda for her part was also impressed as she thought this was something Kyle had come up with on his own.


    Finishing with the basics Kyle was raring to go with the main course of the day that being armour. He could have gone for heavy metal armour but for 1 it would look ridiculous on him and 2 leather taken from demon beasts properly treated could be as strong as metal. Taking this into account Kyle decided to take the best of both worlds. The design he was aiming for was similar to the armoured racing jackets and trousers that are used in motor cross. This meant the main jacket would be made of beast leather but at the important parts there would be additional metal pieces placed. These pieces of metal would be riveted into place and then an inner lining would be placed to cushion any impacts that may pass through armour further protecting the wearer.


    All of this shocked Nettie. As she thought about this new armour design before, when she envisioned it, she realised this could save a lot of lives but why had no one thought of it before. It has to be understood that new ideas in this world where very slow to appear as people already thought they had reached a plateau. There were a few people who were working on new things but they were few and far between.


    Kyle also designed some combat boots with steel inserts and a tactical style backpack which was about 35ltr. When Nettie saw these wasn''t as surprised but when she asked why the boots needed metal in these places Kyle explained it was to prevent things from getting into his feet and when questioned about the different parts of the backpack he was able to explain about holding water bottles, places for tools and a few other features.


    Nettie was truly impressed by now as all these things were highly practical and could help many people from the family. Holding the plans like a treasure Nettie looked at Kyle like he was her favourite grandson before asking.


    "These designs are wonderful and may be able to help a lot of our people can I share them with everyone?"


    "You''ll have to check with my father first, if he agrees I see no problem with it."


    Plans and designs are treated like family secrets which not many are willing to share as it would decrease your personal power. By being willing to share these plans Kyle''s favourability with both Nettie and Miranda had gone up further. He for his part didn''t think too much about it as the thing he wanted to keep quiet was what he was doing next.


    "I''ll get started with these as soon as possible and I should be able to complete everything in around a week."


    "Thank you Nettie, would you be able to produce another set of day wear and hunting gear for Miranda as well?"


    Saying this Kyle began to get measured for his new gear, after he was finished Miranda went up to be measured up. She was in shock as this was the first time anyone had bought her clothes apart from her parents and secondly she found out she may be hunting sometime soon. Once they were finished Kyle bid farewell to Nettie and started towards his next destination.


    "Onwards to the blacksmith."

 17 Chapter 17 A man is only as good as his tool

    "Onwards to the blacksmith."


    Kyle couldn''t help but be excited as this was something he was really excited about. When he realised that he was in a sword and magic world, he knew he could use a sword the way it was meant to be used. When he was young he took up shin kendo and this created a love for weapons in general but in particular Japanese weapons, the most prominent being that katana as who could say that a true sword isn''t beautiful.


    Kyle couldn''t remember where his love of these swords came from as these were among the memories that were wiped, but he could remember reading books about their forging and also watching documentaries about the processes. This interest expanded and he looked into various means of weapon forging, metallurgy and the ways these weapons were used. Ancient stories, historical records basically anything he could find about cold weapons he investigated. Some may say he was passionate about his hobby but most would just call him a nerd, now however this knowledge should hold him in good stead as he''d be able to see the forging methods used and alter them to suit his preferred style.


    Hurrying up as he got more and more excited, he was almost running towards the blacksmiths quarters. Miranda was surprised by his actions as previously he always seemed apathetic and slightly aloof, but seeing the sparkle in his eye and the excitement which was almost radiating off of his body Miranda finally saw a boy of her own age who treated her well. This created a strange desire in the young girls'' heart as she found she wanted to protect this joy and pure innocence she had glimpsed.


    In just a few moments Kyle and Miranda arrived in front of the blacksmiths quarters. The building itself was far larger than any of the nearby workshops. Kyle was expecting to see multiple smoke stacks towering above the building as while the building was large it didn''t have any special external adornments. There were 6 chimneys but these were no different than the chimneys of an ordinary house. The building itself was made with slightly inward curving walls making it look almost like an upside down fruit bowl. The chimneys were located at the top of this dome, Kyle assumed that this shape was to aid in the flow of smoke. There were multiple windows in the building but all of these were closed but there were small slits located at the base of the dome When Kyle tried to think what these slits were for he thought of the kilns and stoves that exist in this world and realised this was also to help in air flow within the building.


    Reaching the entrance Kyle took a couple of breaths to calm himself down before pushing the door open.


    "WHAT THE BLOODY HELL DO YOU THINK YOU''RE DOING!!!!?"


    Hearing this thunderous shout Kyle was stunned for a second as the timing was perfect as it coincided almost perfectly with when he opened the door. Looking for the source of this shout Kyle spied who he assumed to be the foreman of the workshop berating the workers. When Kyle saw this man the only coherent thought in his head was ''it''s a giant dwarf''. This may sound strange but if you saw him you would understand. This man stood clear of 6 feet, while he was this tall he was almost that wide as well but there wasn''t any visible fat on him. This bulk appeared to be almost all muscle. Also sporting an impressive beard and a bald head which was so shiny you could almost hear the ''bling'' sound effect like a certain caped superhero with a lack of reaction. He did look like an enlarged stereotypical dwarf from fantasy, he was even a blacksmith how many clich¨¦s can you put in one person.


    This man''s subordinates ignored his shouting and just carried on doing what they were required to do, although a few paused for a few seconds on seeing Kyle and Miranda before scurrying to carry on with their tasks. This pause didn''t escape the foreman''s sight and he turned towards the new arrivals and upon seeing them was first shocked as he could tell that Kyle was someone from the higher levels and they don''t usually associate with the craftsmen, preferring instead to pass orders through intermediaries. This man was the chief blacksmith Randall who was a strong warrior in his own right being at level 9. All these blacksmiths were warriors as they needed the strength to be able to forge these metals as they had been infused with mana making them incredibly strong and durable.


    Once Kyle got over his shock at Randall, he looked over the workshop and found himself a little disappointed. The forges themselves were impressive as raw metals were fed into the top and they were heated and controlled using arrays hence the lack of smoke stacks as the standard chimneys could handle the small amount of smoke released. These furnaces produced a heat that could appear at its hottest in a bluish white hue. This meant the heat was incredible and was hot enough to heat the metal turning it into an almost pure liquid.


    Unfortunately this is where this worlds failing started to crop up as the metal in its liquid form was poured into moulds in the shape of the claymores or bastard swords everyone used. These were then just left to cool on their own without any further processing until they could be sharpened by hand with the hilt finally being affixed.


    Being the nerd he was, when Kyle saw this he could only shake his head and lament this process. It was good for quick production but created many weaknesses and impurities in the metal. Kyle began to think about using formations to improve this process and also to allow him to produce better weapons and alloys than existed even in his previous world.


    Seeing Kyle shaking his head at the process, Randall scowled at the new arrivals. All of the workmen on seeing this scowl ran for cover as this was never a good sign as Randall wasn''t a patient or good tempered man at the best of times. Walking over to Kyle, Randall once again raised his voice.


    "OI BRAT WHAT ARE YOU LOOKING AT, YOU THINK YOU CAN DO BETTER??"


    Kyle turned his eyes towards Randall, not being intimidated in the slightest as he found himself rather annoyed at the lack of artistry in this way of sword forging.


    "Yes I don''t think that would be a problem."


    Hearing this a vein became visible at Randall''s temple and his face became slightly red in anger.


    "OH REALLY, WELL THEN LOOKS LIKE WE''VE GOT A GOOD SHOW LADS. LET THE KID SHOW US HOW IT''S DONE!!"


    Turning to his men Randall waved them away from the forges. Kyle looked around to see several buckets containing various ores. Walking over to them he could see some he already knew like iron, copper and tin but these were stronger than our versions as the introduction of mana had elementally altered them making them stronger. There were also other metals with mythical names like mithril, orichalcum and adamantine. Luckily all the stores were labelled so he could see what was what.


    Kyle began picking through these metals, turning his soul sight to them one at a time. When he turns this sight to a person, what he sees is relative to interpretation and is highly dependent on how he perceives thing. When he turned his sight to these metals it was different, he could almost see their relative strengths and weaknesses. It''s difficult to explain but think along the lines of a view using a heat sensitive camera. He could tell what impurities were present, how strong the metals are and how well they can conduct mana. The best part of this however was when he began comparing these different metals in his mind. He began to process the details at a shocking rate and somehow began to simulate how these would work as alloys.


    This surprised Kyle as he didn''t know he could do this. Again this didn''t appear as in some isekai novel, instead it was more like a feeling or instinct. He knew what would work and how to process the materials to get the desired result. Kyle began selecting his materials'', he chose all three of the more exotic materials and also chose a small amount of iron and copper.


    Seeing what Kyle was doing the men present began to smirk as it''s known these materials cannot be mixed. Usually you would have one exotic material for its special attribute and mix it with common materials to get the finished alloy. Mithril had good mana conductivity, orichalcum could allow for an elemental attribute to be added to the weapon and adamantine was highly resistant to damage or wear and could even repair itself given time. But when these were mixed together it could cause wild mana fluctuations causing the metal to fail.


    Heading to an unused furnace Kyle inspected the formation that was present on it. This formation allowed the user to heat the furnace to a specific temperature and hold it there without the heat being able to escape. This was why there were several furnaces needed for different processing needs. Seeing this Kyle realised why they couldn''t get these metals to fuse properly. He finally said to himself


    "I need better tools."

 18 Chapter 18 Youre never to young to drink

    "I need better tools."


    Looking over the furnace Kyle had some ideas to improve its performance and functions. He turned to Randall and said.


    "I''m going to make some alterations to this furnace, can you also bring a mould to produce ingots and I also need an anvil and hammer like the ones you use to form the edge of the claymores."


    Saying his orders Kyle turned again to inspect the formation. Randall was surprised by the sudden orders he was given but seeing Kyle being this serious he became curious about what may happen. Nodding to his men several ran off to grab an anvil and bring it closer while another went to one of the stores to get the hammer.


    Kyle was looking at the array on the furnace and was trying to decide the best way to do what he needed. He could make a very complicated array and have the settings be part of the array. However this may make it difficult for the present blacksmiths to use, instead he decided to make a multi-glyph circular array which could be rotated like an oven switch for heat. He''d also create 2 additional arrays of this type, one of these would control a mixing speed so the metals could bond properly in their liquid form and the other would be a mana infusion control. This last array would further enhance the metals and remove impurities during the creation process.


    Deciding on how to continue Kyle looked at the existing formation attached to the furnace. This was a cast formation made from bronze in a triangular shape which was fixed at the three different points. The formation contained three arrays these being heat, contain and cool. Pulling the array from the furnace Kyle shocked everyone as these furnaces are extremely expensive and take a long time to be made. Randall almost blew a blood vessel when he saw this as it was his responsibility to care for these tools. As he was going to take a step forward and give this kid a beating something caused him to freeze in his tracks.


    Kyle looked at the array in his hand and used his array projection to cast a single glyph array to come out. The core of this array was ''shape'' which can be used to alter the layout of objects below a certain level of density. As bronze was a low enough density Kyle could alter this easily, so while not caring about what was going on around him he started working. Randall froze when he say the array Kyle projected, while his men were just shocked Randall was more versed in the strengths and abilities of array masters so he knew the level of this ability, as well with the ease and speed it was cast almost broke his little brain.


    Kyle using the ''shape'' array moulded this bronze into 3 solid circles with simple markings showing the numbers 1-10 indicating the heat, mixing speed and level of mana to be infused. The control he used when ''shaping'' these using the array was far beyond what was theoretically possible and this was why array masters didn''t use this means themselves.


    Once the dials were completed Kyle started to infuse the arrays he''d decided to use into them. As Kyle was using array projection he didn''t need to shape the dials into the shape of the arrays which should also help to hide how he did this keeping it a secret to boost his family''s prestige. When the dials were complete he put them on the spindles already on the furnace from the array that was once on there. Looking over his shoulder Kyle saw Randall looking at him with an expression on his face looking like he''d just eaten ten lemons then licked salt. Not worrying about the giant dwarf he saw the men bringing over the anvil and hammer. He directed them to put them beside furnace. He then proceeded to cast a few arrays on these, the hammer had ''durability and shaping'' placed on this as Kyle knew he would need to shape the metal on the anvil without relying on the quenching to give it its distinctive form. The anvil had separate arrays one for heating and the other for cooling as he needed the metal to be hot but not molten for him to fold the steel.


    Once he was ready Kyle turned the furnace on to its highest heat and threw in the adamantine as this had the highest melting point. The furnace heated almost instantly although none of the blacksmiths could feel this as the heat was all contained behind a barrier and there was no light visible. This is different than other arrays of it type as most masters associate heat almost unconsciously with fire so due to this perception there would always be visible light when the furnace was activated.


    Thinking Kyle may have broken the equipment he was responsible for, Randall took a step forward as Kyle tossed the adamantine ore into the furnace. The ore immediately started to glow and become molten and liquefy. Making Randall stop once again, seeing the first metal had turned molten Kyle the turned the temperature down to 5 and then tossed in the iron and set the mixing to 3. As the iron broke down and began to mix with the adamantine the blacksmiths could see how evenly it was mixed surprising them as this process usually takes a long time with repeated re-heating and even then it couldn''t fully mix the metals.


    Once the iron was evenly spread Kyle turned the heat to 1 and threw in the mithril, everyone held their breath as this should be where the metal fails, but as they waited there was no adverse reaction and the mithril mixed through the molten metal making Randall question what he has been doing with his life. Watching the mix with interest Kyle waited for a moment more and then turned the mana infusion to 2. Nobody knew what these controls did but they now believed this was how he was preventing the metal from breaking down and as the mana started to be infused they could see the metal start to glow in a purple-blue hue.


    When the mana was fully infused into the metal Kyle turned the mixing to 7 and the heat to 6 and added the copped and orichalcum simultaneously. They broke down easily and mixed freely with the other materials with no problem. At this step Kyle Lowered the temperature to 1 and the mana infusion to 10. As the heat was pulled from the steel and the mana increased the metal took on a blue-green hue and then began to fluctuate in different colours.


    Kyle left the metal in this state for a few minutes allowing it to fully saturate in the mana field. Kyle had started sweating during this process as he alone knew that if he got this part wrong this would be where it failed. After successfully passing this hurdle he was ready for the next stage. Pouring the steel into the ingot mould Kyle set it to one side for a moment letting it settle before double checking the arrays he installed in the hammer and anvil. The surrounding blacksmiths edged closer trying to see this new alloy which nobody had ever successfully created before this kid turned up out of nowhere and created.


    This metal looked like a silver oil spill as it was made up of bright silver with various colours swimming through it which gave it an almost hypnotic effect. Once the metal had set Kyle upended the mould and the ingot fell onto the anvil. Seeing the metal was ready Kyle activated the heating array on the anvil and brought the hammer up, ready to start forging his first sword. Activating the array on the hammer Kyle brought it down with a crash on the ingot. There was a reverberation from this impact which shook him so Kyle started channelling his mana into his nodes reinforcing his body while making him appear to glow.


    When the blacksmiths saw this they were shocked once again as Kyle''s whole body glowed, usually when people reinforce their bodies they are only able to reinforce a few key points in accordance to whatever skill they were using. For example Randall would reinforce whichever arm was striking and both legs but this wasn''t at the strength Kyle used as he hadn''t cleared his nodes.


    Kyle continued to flatten the ingot which was still soft at this point due to the heating from the anvil. Once the metal was flat Kyle bent the metal back on itself and started to flatten it again. This process was aided by the ''shaping'' array in the hammer which let him direct what was happening much easier than he would otherwise be able to do. Again and again he did this confusing the blacksmiths as they had never seen a process like this before.


    This continued for an hour and a half but no one moved as they were captivated by this process. Miranda had a blush on her face as she watched Kyle work, everyone around could see she was enamoured by this mysterious young man. They knew he must be someone important in the family as he had a personal maid but they couldn''t remember who he could be.


    Kyle eventually finished the tempering of the metal and began to shape it to his preference. The blade gradually took shape. The blade itself was 94cm long with a small section without an edge to go into the hilt. Colours swam over the blade when light hit it making it look more like a piece of art rather than a weapon. When he was completed with the shaping of the blade Kyle asked from a block of wood and some leather strapping to be brought over so he could make the hilt. Several of the junior blacksmiths scrambled to grab what he''d asked for while Kyle took some of the left over metal to fashion a guard for the handle. This was a simple round guard made from the same material so it had the same strength and ethereal feeling as the sword itself.


    By the time Kyle had finished this simple shaping the juniors had returned with a few different materials for the hilt. Kyle selected a black timber and red leather to make the handle. As these were much softer he was able to shape them to his preference. Once again the surrounding people were impressed with his skills. When this was completed Kyle put the ensemble together, the blacksmiths were confused as nothing was fixed together and would just be loose but their confusion was short lived as Kyle released a different array. This array was ''meld'' which was different than ''shape'' as what meld did was bond things into one meaning Kyle''s katana was a single piece, so it wouldn''t break or come apart on impact.


    The final phase to complete was just to sharpen the blade. This would have been a problem as the new alloy was much stronger than almost anything that came before and as it absorbed the mana of the user it would only become more ridiculous, but Kyle wasn''t stupid and he thanked god that he could use arrays. Casting an array into the blade, this one being ''sharpen'' the blade took on a dangerous glint. Again this isn''t done because fixing an array to a weapon isn''t done as it would either weaken the weapon or prevent additional functions the user wanted to be attached. This was due to the limit of arrays which could be attached to a blade from etching. Kyle used array projection directly into the blade so this was a modification at the molecular level and it can be sharpened with a burst of mana and the regeneration of the weapon could be increased just to both mithril and adamantine being alloyed together.


    Finally Kyle took another piece of the dark wood which had a good amount of strength for being timber and ''shaped'' it into a sheath. Walking over to a workbench Kyle took some lacquer and coated the sheath and cast a ''dry'' array on the lacquer while thinking if arrays can do all this why do humans struggle so much. He didn''t even think that the way he used them was abnormal but to everyone else this was amazing and impossible.


    Happy with his creation Kyle walked over to Randall who was now starry eyed and dying to ask how he did all this, but upon remembering what happened previously took on a stoic face and said.


    "Not bad I''ll give it 7 out of 10."


    Everyone face palmed at this as this blade was beautiful and made of an alloy which didn''t exist before and they all thought that if it was used this would be a deadly weapon. Miranda was almost apocalyptically angry at this but seeing Kyle''s grin held herself back. For his part thought Randall was great fun as he previously dealt with people like this, prideful men who wouldn''t admit defeat until you left them no other option.


    "Well I still need to test the blade so why don''t you bring out your best blade."


    This was probably the best way to bring Randall to heel and he wasn''t disappointed as Randall started huffing finally shouting.


    "FINE!! YOU OVER THERE BRING ME DAISY!!!"


    Hearing this Kyle paused for a second before turning to the sound of someone running. They were carrying a massive bastard sword almost 6 feet long. This was "Daisy" and it was Randall''s pride and joy. This was forged by a master blacksmith from the capital and was considered one of the best swords in the city and certainly the best sword in this workshop.


    Taking up his sword Randall looked at it with affection before standing in a mid double handed stance and said.


    "Okay kid let''s see what you can do."


    Everyone noticed the change in voice from Randall as he didn''t speak to him as an inferior or as a superior but as an equal. From Randall this was the highest form of praise he can give as people can employ him but it didn''t mean he respected them. This included most of the elders in the family and the number of people he respected could be counted on one hand.


    Taking a quick draw stance Kyle focused, drew his sword, slashed and sheathed all in one quick motion. The speed and skill this took shocked them all but none more than Kyle as he would never be able to do this previously. Looking at Randall he was surprised as he was still stood in place but only holding a hilt with only a few inches of blade left while the rest was on the floor.


    Yes Kyle had cut straight through his sword with no resistance. This was how sharp the blade had become. Everyone was quiet for a moment but the surrounding erupted into cheers, nothing like this had been seen before and it may mean a new means of forging. Kyle felt sorry for Randall who was still looking at the hilt of his prided sword.


    "You know I still have some more stuff to make if you want we can re-forge your sword."


    Hearing Kyle, Randall came out of his stupor and looked at him like he was his favourite child.


    "Really when can we start how about now."


    "I''m sorry it''ll have to be tomorrow I''m already late for another appointment."


    Kyle remembered he was training with Bruno and was already running behind. Hearing this Randall was a bit disappointed but let it go but then said.


    "Okay but tonight you''re having dinner with us and I''ll drink you under the table."


    "Uhh you do know I''m too young to drink?"

 19 Chapter 19 Training montage begins

    "Uhh you do know I''m too young to drink?"


    Randall realising his mistake rubbed the back of his neck whilst looking sheepish.


    "Oh right well you can have fruit juice but you still need to join us for dinner to celebrate."


    Understanding his intentions Kyle wasn''t against this but had to clarify a few things.


    "No problem, as long as I get permission from my parents I''ll join you then. Miranda can you quickly ask my parents if I can miss dinner with them tonight and instead eat with the craftsmen."


    Miranda upon receiving her instructions nodded and quickly ran off with the intention of meeting up with Kyle at the training grounds. Kyle turned his attention to the surrounding crowd.


    "I''m afraid we can''t celebrate, at least not yet. With this new alloy we can strengthen the family but if it gets out the other families or the imperial governor may interfere so I need you all to swear to keep this a secret for now."


    Upon hearing this, the surrounding people thought about his words and realised the truth and immediately swore that they wouldn''t divulge this information even to other members of the family without permission from Randall, Kyle or Landon. Randall was able to think further than the others and was thinking of the process to create the new alloy. Kyle could see Randall thinking about the situation.


    "Don''t worry about the creation method as the arrays and means of production are only known by me, so no one else will be able to recreate this method in the short term."


    Upon realising this Randall had one less worry and decided to institute around the clock security on this improved furnace. They wouldn''t alter any of the others for the moment, as he wanted to report to Landon about the situation as this could change many things and these decisions were above his pay grade. Randall may be a fool but he wasn''t an idiot so he decided to leave worrying about all this to the management and just focus on what he knew.


    "Oh by the way I haven''t introduced myself yet I''m Randall chief blacksmith of the Powell family."


    Holding out his hand towards Kyle, Randall looked expectantly at Kyle who could feel his eye twitching as after everything that had happened he now chose to introduce himself. The surrounding gallery let out a quiet groan seeing their leader acting this way but didn''t interfere as they respected both of these people equally now.


    "I''m Kyle, sorry but I''m really behind schedule now so I''ve got to get a move on."


    Finally shaking Randall''s hand, Kyle excused himself and started running towards his training ground. In order to reach his private grounds he needed to pass through the general training grounds were guards and the younger outer members of the family would train.


    Slowing down slightly Kyle was curious to see the training methods the people were using as the previous Kyle never trained in these general grounds but instead in his private grounds so he wasn''t embarrassed by younger people surpassing him.


    He could see a lot of people lifting weights of different settings but they were all over 80kgs with most being in the 120kg range. There were also people training with their swords, these were predominantly large claymores and they were swinging these striking solid targets of wood or stone. They were training in this way to strengthen their arms and hands to better resist the impacts. The last group were people wrestling in a ring of about 30m diameter. There were no real martial arts used in any of these training schemes as the basis for martial power in this world was if you can hit harder you can win.


    Once Kyle had looked at this training he sped up once again to meet up with Bruno. A few of the people in the training ground saw Kyle and were thinking of screwing with him as they knew he was stuck at level 0 but on seeing him run towards his training ground they gave up as they wouldn''t be able to catch up with him because he was very quickly getting out of sight.


    Disregarding him they returned to their training. Looking at the people who were training it had to be noted that the vast majority were men and less than 5% were women. It''s not that women can''t be cultivators but there was a stigma with women being muscular so they mostly trained in mana rather than physically training.


    Kyle ran for another couple of minutes until he reached his training compound, this private area had all the equipment that the previous area had and was about 500m by 500m with stone walls blocking the outside. There was a few weapon racks to the side loaded with big swords of different weights and for the first time Kyle saw a couple of other weapons mixed in this included a couple of war hammers and some double headed axes, there was also a steel shaft halberd at 3m long.


    As always this world favoured heavy weapons. In the centre of the training complex there was another ring but this one was different than the one in the general area as it was a formation that his mother had laid out. It was a protection array so if Kyle was sparring he and his opponent wouldn''t be injured beyond a certain point. This was the most advanced formation Kyle had seen to date and he could see it was made up of over a dozen separate arrays all aligned and cast in adamantine to prevent them breaking during a training session.


    Bruno had already arrived and was practising his sword swings in the ring. Kyle took this time to inspect his movements and martial skills. It has to be said Bruno had trained a lot and his form was text book perfect however this was only in relation to the books that already exist. Kyle could see many flaws in his movements due to how he was trained and this was from an amateurs eye, if it was a true master Kyle had no doubt Bruno would be dead without even understanding how.


    Miranda arrived at this point being a little pink in the face and out of breath from running to do her duties.


    "Master your parents said that was fine and you should enjoy yourself tonight."


    Maria and Landon didn''t realise it was Randall who had invited Kyle to the craftsmen''s hall for diner, but thought it was probably the apprentices who were only a little older than him. With this line of thought they believed it was good Kyle had made some new friends.


    Hearing Miranda, Bruno stopped his practice and turned to greet the pair of new arrivals.


    "You''re late!"


    "Yeah sorry we had some errands to run which took a bit longer than expected."


    "Okay no problem, so how do you want to start?"


    Thinking about when he used to go to train he decided a warm up was the first port of call. Turning to Miranda who was still dressed in her maid attire Kyle pointed to a cubicle.


    "Miranda you''ll be joining us for training. If you go in the changing room over there you''ll be able to find a training suit and then we can start warming up."


    Miranda began to head towards the changing room while thinking ''I hope I don''t get all butch.'' Bruno then asked Kyle.


    "So what are we going to do for a warm up? I''ve already done some sword practice."


    "We''re going to start by doing some running. I need to get an idea for everyone''s stamina levels."


    Bruno looked at Kyle with a confused expression for a minute before shrugging. Running isn''t considered an exercise here due to it lacking direct improvement in the persons physical strength, but Kyle is aware of the improvements it can provide people if they do it regularly.


    Miranda arrived after training into her training gear and Kyle told her they''ll start with running. He would set the pace and they just have to keep to the same pace as him. All three then set off and started a jog around the compound. The first 3km was fine with Kyle setting the pace at a steady jog. Miranda and Bruno had started to sweat but it wasn''t too bad, but when Kyle passed the 3km mark he started to raise the speed until he was flat out.


    Bruno and Miranda tried their best to keep up. Bruno was the first to tap out after another 1200m followed by Miranda at 1500m. Kyle carried on for another 500m after Miranda before admitting defeat.


    Coming over to Bruno and Miranda Kyle instructed them to begin cultivating. Miranda already having Kyle''s new technique started straight away. Kyle approached Bruno and instructed him in the altered technique at level 2. Bruno was a meat head but he appeared to be gifted when it came to cultivation and picked it up quickly and started his cultivation followed by Kyle.


    "And now here comes the training montage." Kyle thought with a grin which if the other 2 saw would really make them worried.

 20 Chapter 20 Welcome to the team

    "And now here comes the training montage." Kyle thought with a grin which if the other 2 saw would really make them worried.


    While cultivating to repair and improve their muscles and recover their stamina, Kyle thought about the strength disparity that was already present between the three of them. Bruno having the highest cultivation should in all reality be the strongest and have the most stamina. Facts however proved otherwise, Kyle believed this was due to their different cultivation techniques.


    With their nodes already being cleared Kyle and Miranda''s bodies had already started to strengthen and evolve without any training or assistance. This means that with training they would continue to get stronger at a faster rate, similar to how their mana would continue to grow even without cultivation however when they cultivate they would get far better results.


    Kyle was the first to fully recover again due to his body now being more efficient. As the other 2 were still cultivating Kyle went to each to inspect them. Looking at Miranda''s spirit realm first Kyle was pleased to see the progress she was making, her nodes were clearing at a visibly rate and it wouldn''t be long until her nodes were completely clear and he could start training her by letting her hold her mana in her sub-nodes like how he''d done previously.


    He also noticed that while her main channel wasn''t as wide or as reinforced as his was, it was however a little wider and stronger than previously. This may not have been totally accurate as the channel may strengthen at early stages on its own, so Kyle moved onto Bruno and he could see the same effect was occurring in his spirit realm. This was a good situation as it meant that he may be able to strengthen his channel without forcefully controlling it. Turning his sight inwards Kyle inspected his own channel and found that it was indeed strengthening, but unlike the other 2 his seemed to be influenced by his previous level and was already wider and stronger than theirs.


    Happy with this new discovery Kyle sat and waited for the other 2 to recover. After another 10 minutes both Bruno and Miranda returned to consciousness. Bruno looked at Kyle with a surprised look on his face before asking.


    "That technique is awesome, I can already feel myself getting stronger where did it come from?"


    "The master combined some existing techniques and changed them to what they are now."


    Miranda responded to Bruno before Kyle could even speak with a prideful look on her face as if it was her who created this technique.


    "Yes it is my private technique and it must be kept secret so you can''t tell anyone about it even within the family without my permission. Do you understand?"


    Not fully comprehending why it couldn''t be shared with the family, as they were one and everything that can strengthen the family is helpful. But Bruno was nothing if not loyal so he just nodded his head and swore in his heart that he would take this to the grave if needed.


    With the rest period over Kyle got the others moving again. The next stage he chose to try was some yoga as the stretching and flexing would help with their dexterity and their flexibility making them better able to fight when needed. When they started Bruno couldn''t help but pipe up.


    "Hey I like this new training, this is easy."


    However this didn''t last long as after 20 minutes of this Bruno was down again. Miranda kept up with Kyle until the end as she had better flexibility than Bruno to start and this range of motion didn''t tire her out as much. Once this training was done they sat and cultivated again before moving on.


    This time Kyle selected some weights in the 20kg range and began a selection of weight training exercises. This was Bruno''s time to shine as he already trained with weights, but Miranda had to tap out early and Kyle himself almost didn''t finish this set as it must be said that his body was still only 8 years old regardless of the cheats he''s got. Once this set was complete they once again cultivated before Kyle set up some circuit training for them. Lunges, step up, squats push ups, crunches and anything else he could pull out from his memories were included. Some things he couldn''t do as they needed equipment to do but there was enough to carry on with.


    30 minutes later all three were sprawled on the floor breathing heavily and too tired to sit up. Even lying on their backs looking up like they were they could still cultivate it''s just due to convention that people sit up to cultivate. Laying down and looking at the clouds Kyle began thinking about the future and became curious.


    "What do you guys want to do in the future, any plans?"


    "Well I want to join the guards. Maybe become a captain and marry a pretty girl so I can have a son to continue the family name."


    Bruno responded almost like he''d been programmed, which thinking about it probably wasn''t far from the truth. While Kyle didn''t think this would be a bad life, it lacked imagination and drive and seemed more like the path others had walked before. Turning his head slightly, Kyle saw Miranda in profile. She was looking straight up with a faraway look in her eyes and took another minute or two before she spoke.


    "I''ve always wanted to explore and see the world, but as a maid I can''t do as I please and I don''t want to let my parents down."


    Realising who she was talking to Miranda quickly started to panic trying to turn towards Kyle even though she was exhausted, but seeing Kyle looking at her with a pleased look on his face Miranda was surprised.


    "It''s good you think big and have an ambition or dream greater than you currently reach. If you don''t try to reach for the stars you may as well be in the dirt."


    He didn''t know where he got this quote from but it was probably from one of those cheap motivational posters with a cat hanging onto a clothes line. Deciding that break time was about over all three struggled to their feet and brushing themselves down.


    Looking at the light Kyle judged it to be about 3 in the afternoon, so he decided they should quickly grab some sandwiches before continuing to the part he was looking forward.


    "Okay we''ll grab some sandwiches before continuing."


    "I''ll go and get them master."


    With this Miranda sprinted off towards the Kitchens. Seeing her sprint off Bruno was surprised at her stamina as he thought she should have been too tired to run like that. Looking towards Kyle he just responded with a laugh and shook it off.


    "Bruno would you be good enough to show me your martial training? I need an idea of what you know and what I need to adapt to suit you."


    Kyle had a rough idea as to what martial arts he wanted Miranda and Bruno to learn, but it would be best to check Bruno''s habits as he has already been trained to a certain extent and Kyle may need to break some bad habits. Bruno immediately went and took a large cleaver from the rack and executed a couple of moves. These were basic stabs and overhead swings, while these were powerful they weren''t executed with any finesse or precision, Kyle was once again disappointed with the martial arts available.


    Once Bruno had finished his sequence of strikes he looked towards Kyle expectantly.


    "Do you know any unarmed combat and is there separate footwork for your fighting techniques?"


    "No we train wrestling for unarmed combat and what do you mean footwork?"


    Kyle face palmed at this and decided he would need to start at the beginning for both Miranda and Bruno. Miranda arrived a few minutes later as Kyle was still contemplating and took a sandwich when Miranda offered before she stood to one side. Coming out of his contemplation Kyle saw Miranda off to the side and pointed to the seat next to him opposite Bruno.


    "Miranda when we are training and away from others you are one of us, so you eat, drink, laugh and curse with us. We are now a team and we need to watch out for and protect each other regardless of the situation, so sit and eat."


    Miranda hesitantly took a seat and began to eat a sandwich. Bruno being the simple and straightforward guy he is didn''t think too much about this and just laughed while saying.


    "Welcome to the team."


    Miranda smile at her newfound friends and teammates hoping they could stay together and explore the world. She was shaken from her fantasy when Kyle told them what was next.


    "Okay once we''ve finished the sandwiches I''ll be training you in some martial arts and then the fun begins."


    Kyle had a sadistic grin on his face when he said this cautiously Bruno asked.


    "What''s fun?"


    "Sparring!"

 21 Chapter 21 I know kung fu!

    "Sparring!"


    Hearing Kyle both Miranda and Bruno looked towards him with a confused look. They didn''t understand what he was planning as he had a smirk on his face and a glint in his eye which made them uncomfortable as if they could feel an incoming catastrophe.


    "We''ll spar together without the use of mana so I can get an idea of your preferred fighting style and we can tailor your training towards your strengths."


    Saying this Kyle began to think of his own training. He learnt a few martial arts since he was young, some for only a few months and a couple for several years. He was most experienced in Aikido and Taekwondo as these were the ones he''d trained in for the longest, but when he was much younger he''d also spent some time learning karate, judo, jeet kune do and kick boxing. He''d also read manuals for several different other martial arts but never trained them himself as he didn''t think they were a good match for him.


    Kyle always believed it was better to focus on a single one once you found a good match and then expand your skill set by knowing about others. With the higher level his mind and body was already functioning at he didn''t think this was going to be a problem as his memory and recall was now fearsome and the manuals he''d read could be recalled perfectly, so at least he could teach others these arts and allow them to then develop on their own. He didn''t want these arts to spread to easily so he told the others.


    "What we''ll learn hear is no different than the technique I''ve given you, so this cannot be shared to anyone without my permission. Can you swear that to me?"


    "Of course master I swear even unto death!"


    Miranda responded instantly as she saw these two as her true friends as soon as they said they were a team. Bruno for his part was thinking hard, this may have been difficult for him but he was working his way through his thoughts.


    "Kyle why do you want to keep this secret, surely these arts and techniques will help everyone in the family if you share them?"


    Sighing to himself at how loyal and trusting Bruno is, Kyle decided to place his trust in him the same as he trusted Miranda.


    "These can strengthen us but they can also destroy us. What do you think would happen if the other families or the empire found out about this? They wouldn''t ask or trade we would be attacked from all sides. So until we are strong enough to resist we need to step carefully."


    "Okay I understand that but why not tell the family at least the inner family?"


    "This is a secret which only my parents, their aides Shawna and Isaiah with Miranda also know. The reason I was unable to proceed with my training was because I was poisoned. This wasn''t a standard poison as it blocked my mana flow allowing it to build up and I would eventually become either crippled or I would just straight out die. The only people who could have given me this poison would be within the estate and the number would be further reduced as it must have been when I was a baby I was given it as it isn''t easy to hide it. Miranda is in the clear just because of her age. The scary thing is the only people who would have access to me at that age are in the upper command of the family."


    As Bruno listened to Kyle''s monologue he was at first shocked then upset at how his friend was hurt and finally settled on anger realising there was at least one traitor in their midst. As resolution grew in his chest Bruno looked at Miranda and then Kyle deciding on the course his future would take.


    "I swear I will follow your instructions and get revenge for you! No one messes with my team!!"


    Hearing Bruno''s vow Kyle was pleased he had made the right choice to trust him as it was good to have people to share the load.


    "Alright then let''s get started, I want you to come at me. Don''t worry you won''t hurt me but come at me like you want to hurt me."


    Hearing this Miranda and Bruno were shocked. They didn''t want to hurt their friend and master, but seeing his serious look they knew this was serious. Bruno was the first to move as he was the stronger of the two with the most training.


    Bruno started off by throwing a straight punch towards Kyle''s face with his full strength. Before he knew what happened he felt his stomach turn over before he found himself on his back looking straight at the clouds in the sky with just one thought ''what happened?''.


    From Miranda''s perspective it looked like Bruno was going to hit Kyle''s face, but Kyle seemed to almost flow around him avoiding contact but being with centimetres of him. Then with a slight movement of his arms Bruno was flipping through the air, crashing to the ground about 3m away from where he started.


    Miranda being smarter than Bruno chose this moment to attack, trying to catch Kyle off guard she ran up behind him and aimed a kick towards his crown jewels. Kyle had been conscious of Miranda making a move, but felt a cold sweat when he realised her plan, ''well that''s just vicious''.


    As her leg came up between his, Kyle did a low block with both hands. I mean who would want to risk that kind of pain just for some training. Catching Miranda''s ankle Kyle held on while stepping over her leg and then raised it while stepping in. This pushed Miranda off balance which Kyle took advantage of by sweeping her leg and pushing her raised leg further up. Like Bruno, Miranda ended up on her back wondering how she would explain this if anyone asked.


    "Hey Miranda can I just ask why you tried to kick me in that location?"


    Choosing his words carefully Kyle questioned her about her tactics. Hearing Kyle Miranda scrambled back up and moved nearer to Bruno who was groaning as he stood up.


    "Well mommy said if I get in a fight with a boy that''s the best place to aim for."


    Hearing Miranda''s innocent reply Kyle chose not to ask further but he would step carefully around her Mother.


    "Okay well anyway let''s go again!"


    This wasn''t conventional training as it appeared Kyle was just beating the two. He was but he was also getting an understanding for the ways they fight and their respective strengths. Kyle had decided that Bruno should learn krav maga as this seemed to fit him the best as he was more of a power fighter. Miranda was a bit of a struggle as she was both a speed fighter and a control fighter who liked to manoeuvre their opponents into their tempo. She would suit jeet kune do but on fighting her a little more he settled on wing chun as this would seem to suit her personality more.


    Kyle himself had never trained in either of these styles but he had read training manuals for both, so he could give them a rundown of both and train them in the correct forms, but they would have to develop them further themselves. For his choice of his martial art Kyle decided on aikido as this was the one he had trained in the most and it was the one he was most familiar with. Kyle decided to train in a single martial art from the start rather than mixing all that he knew so he could gain muscle memory and develop a correct style before incorporating other parts to better suit the situation he was in now.


    Once the arts each would be training in were chosen Kyle began to drill them in the necessary stances and movements. This was something that Bruno had never experienced before, he fell into a daze repeating the same movement again and again before he felt a sudden impact on the back of his leg. Kyle had smacked him with a wooden broom handle he picked up from the side as his stance had begun to fall apart.


    After they had practised for over two hours Kyle called them to stop. As Bruno and Miranda walked over feeling sweaty and disgruntled Kyle quickly threw a punch towards Bruno. As he was still in training mode he responded to Kyle''s punch using the same technique he had just been practising, catching Kyle''s wrist he pulled it down and to his side while raising his palm towards Kyle''s chin. Kyle easily blocked this as he was expecting this strike. Bruno was amazed by this as it wasn''t a conscious action but was due to the repetition still being active in his mind, Bruno just said the first thing that came to his mind.


    "I know kung fu!"

 22 Chapter 22 My spidey senses are tingling

    "I know kung fu!" [Bruno]


    "....." [Kyle]


    "....." [Miranda]


    ".....what?" [Bruno]


    "Well carrying on, what you did wasn''t kung fu. What happened was your body remembered the motions you were doing and responded with what you''ve been practicing today. If I had attacked with different form you wouldn''t have been able to defend."


    Pondering on what Kyle had said, Miranda plucked up her courage and asked some things that were on her mind.


    "Well if you attack differently what''s the point in this training? Also why do we need these arts as you call them, surely we can get stronger through cultivation?"


    Miranda was a bit nervous as this was the first time she had taken the initiative to voice her thoughts and she was worried she would anger her team or worse they would just kick her out of their group. Not daring to look at Kyle she turned slightly to look at Bruno who had furrowed brows thinking on what Miranda had just asked. Finally she looked at Kyle, hoping to gauge his mood and alleviate his anger. Kyle only had a slight smile on his face before saying.


    "Good questions, I''ll explain the first point. The reason we do this training is to build up muscle memory and reactions to these attacks. As this is the first day you''ve only looked at one or two moves and this doesn''t represent the totality of these arts. As we train further with a wider range of moves we will also begin training against one another so you can get a better understanding of the moves, eventually we will begin free sparring were you can use any of your move sets to defend or attack so your combat experience will increase. Once I''m satisfied with your progress we will spar against the guards and hunters so you can get a good grounding in different fighting methods. Just remember we''ve only just started and this is a long road."


    "Okay I get that and to become proficient we need time but I have to ask again why?"


    Being more confident in asking questions Miranda once again asked the most pertinent question on her mind. Kyle on hearing Miranda by passing his answer to the first question and pressed on with the major question on her mind was impressed by her persistence.


    "Well this is quite simple really, Bruno was level 2 almost 3 and I wasn''t even at level 1 but I managed to put him down in one move. This was due to my martial arts. Now let me ask you if a level 0 can bridge that gap without using any mana what would happen if mana was infused in these arts?"


    Bruno had been concentrating on their conversation as these questions were at the heart of the matter. Hearing Kyle''s question he didn''t even need to think and just responded.


    "If a level 0 can beat me without using skills when we level up and use these arts we will be able to beat almost anyone in our level and maybe levels above our current one."


    On hearing Bruno''s immediate answer Miranda felt as if a fog was lifted from her mind as she realised he was right and if these arts were compatible with skills or weapons they would be further strengthened. Kyle seeing the excitement could also see a little bit of pride appearing as they would be the first to be taught by Kyle. Seeing this Kyle grinned before smacking them both around the back of the head.


    "Ouch what was that for."


    Bruno asked feeling wronged as he hadn''t done anything and Miranda was looking at Kyle with watery eyes demanding an answer.


    "It''s okay to have some pride but don''t let it fall into arrogance or you won''t even know how you died."


    Saying his piece Kyle drilled them for another hour before someone rang the door bell. Deciding this was a good time to stop for the day Kyle told Miranda and Bruno to have a shower and he''d go see who was at the door. Miranda wanted to stop him as she was the maid but Kyle just said.


    "You''re all sweaty go take a shower, I''ll have mine when I''ve seen who''s there."


    Deciding not to argue Miranda went to one of the changing rooms to have a shower while Bruno went into another. Both were beginning to feel confident in what they learnt today and couldn''t wait to carry on tomorrow. Kyle was shocked at the progress they made; it appears their bodies are more adaptive than in his previous world. This meant they could grow stronger and more adept much faster. Feeling bad for the other humans who had never progressed in martial arts Kyle reached the entrance and unsealed it.


    Shauna his mother''s maid was stood at the entrance. Seeing Kyle in a training outfit covered in dust and sweat, Shauna smirked and said.


    "Looks like you had fun; you shouldn''t be rolling around with your maid until you''re older."


    Hearing Shauna Kyle was surprised by her candidness as she never spoke to his predecessor this openly.


    "Are you sure you should make these kinds of jokes to an 8 year old? I may have to ask mom what you mean."


    Upon hearing what Kyle said Shauna realised her own lapse. Confused as to why she tried to joke with Kyle like her contemporaries and realising what would happen if Kyle told his mom she tried to dig herself out of the hole she made.


    "Um..Uhh... wait I didn''t mean anything..."


    Seeing Shauna so panicked Kyle couldn''t keep a straight face and burst out laughing. Seeing Kyle laughing at her she went red before huffing. Miranda wouldn''t do anything bad to her but if she heard she''d made an innuendo about her son and his maid. Well let''s just say mommy can be scary when prodded.


    Kyle decided he had enough fun with Shauna and also taking into account his currently ridiculously tight schedule, he decided to move this along.


    "Alright, alright let''s keep this moving. What can I do for you Shauna? Do my parents need me for anything?"


    Grateful to move on from her little domestic disaster Shauna recovered her decorum before taking a small box from her pocket.


    "This is the control stone and key for your mansion. The other of the pair has been removed from grounds manager and is now in the possession of your father. This means that you will need to maintain the mansion yourselves. Do you have any questions?"


    The control stone is the core piece of the protection formation in the mansion. When someone keys their mana into the control stone before the array is active this gives the person remote authority over the formation which can be accessed by remote arrays found in several different locations around the mansion.


    This protection formation as several functions, some of which are in an always active mode and some which can only be activated or deactivated from the remote arrays or at the core of the formation where the control stone would rest. This control stone usually has another making a pair, which is usually kept by the maintenance crew who repair and clean the mansions on the estate.


    "I thought that the mansion would take a while before I could move in."


    "Well it appears the maintenance foreman for that mansion was friends with the previous occupant and maintained it in case they ever returned."


    Well colour me curios Kyle''s spidey sense was tingling.


    "Who was the previous occupant and what happened to them?"


    "Well it''s been quite a while but the last occupant was an elder of the family who dealt in the business interests of the family and finances. One day the cleaning team arrived in the morning and the elder and his family were gone. The found a note which looked like it was written by the elder. It just said ''sorry''. During the investigation that followed we found the elder had been stealing for several years. The gate guards saw them exiting through the south gates but we never managed to keep up with them."


    "Roughly when did this happen?"


    "Oh must have been about 9-10 years ago now."


    Kyle was very suspicious about this now. For an elder to abandon a family like this would have been shocking but it was suppressed the timing however was highly suspect as if the time matched up his mother would have been pregnant with him at that time. Kyle decided he would look into this later. At this point Bruno and Miranda came out to meet them.


    "Okay let me get showered and changed and then we can go."


    "Go where" asked Bruno.


    "To our new house."

 23 Chapter 23 Well thats new

    "To our new house."


    "What do you mean our new house?"


    Bruno asked with a confused expression, he was only 8 and still lived with his parents. It had never occurred to him that he should move out from his parent''s house. Miranda was also confused as she couldn''t understand Kyle''s terminology, why did he include her in the ownership of the new house.


    "What do you mean Kyle/master?"


    Both asked almost exactly in sync. Kyle took on his now trademark grin before saying.


    "As a team we are all equal, that means what''s mine is yours. I may take the lead but don''t ever think you are less than me and never bow before me or anyone else."


    Hearing what Kyle said Bruno and Miranda unconsciously stood a little straighter and moved a little closer to him. Shauna who was still there was surprised by Kyle view of his people and was greatly impressed. Even though his parents are good people and look after their subordinates, a little arrogance is always present. This isn''t to say anything bad about them it''s just the way they were raised and an influence of the era they lived.


    Kyle however has a completely different mindset and saw everyone as equal until they do something to tarnish that view. By his simple words and actions he pulled Bruno and Miranda even closer to him and they finally began to understand Kyle''s meaning when he called them a team.


    "I know you both love your parents and worry about them so they can freely come to our mansion or if they so choose they can move in. It''s not like we''re going to be short of space. Regardless let''s go and have a look at the mansion."


    Hurrying them along Kyle ushered Bruno and Miranda out and began to follow Shauna towards the mansion.


    "I''m sorry about the choice of the mansion. Even though it has been maintained, it is still one of if not the oldest property in the estate. But it was the only open mansion within the estate and your parents wouldn''t want you to leave the estate."


    Shauna started to apologise before they had even walked more than 20 paces. Kyle was getting more and more curious about this mansion as the estate as far as he is aware is over 1000 years old. Tickling his childishness Kyle wondered if there were any undiscovered secrets in this ancient edifice.


    "Has the mansion been fully searched and explored?"


    Kyle asked trying to conceal his excitement. Shauna was taken aback by this new exuberance as previously Kyle was taciturn and even a little grumpy on occasion. However she just chalked this up to pressure from his lack of progress and now he could cultivate this pressure must have been lifted.


    "Yes the mansion has been fully inspected and nothing untoward has been found."


    Hearing Shauna''s reply Kyle noticed the difference in what he asked as opposed to how she responded. People had looked over the mansion looking for the obvious like files, money and heirlooms. This meant people hadn''t taken a deeper look at the mansion like room sizes and looking for other means of concealment.


    Walking for over 30 minutes the group left the busy areas of the estate and reached a more rural and untamed area which was in the north eastern part of the estate reasonable close to the boundary wall of the city not just the boundary of the estate. Finally Kyle could see something in the distance.


    As they got closer to their destination a silhouette began to take shape. Fully seeing his new mansion Kyle was impressed; it looked like a square castle not unlike Leeds castle in the England. There were high ramparts which meant you could see a lot of the surrounding area and if you did have mages you would be able to attack at 360 degrees with no blind spots.


    "Shauna how many buildings are there like this in the city?"


    Kyle was looking at this building and thought this looked more along the lines of a war asset which had been repurposed.


    "I think there were another 10 or 15 but it''s hard to say as most of the buildings of this age have either been demolished or are in ruins."


    Bruno and Miranda were looking at the building. Although it was old it gave them a strange feeling as it exuded some unknown pressure and a sense of prestige which the newer buildings seemed to be missing. Moving towards the door Kyle took out the control stone and the key. Inserting some of his mana into the stone caused the temporary wards to lift allowing Kyle to unlock the door. Taking his first steps into his first personal home in this new world Kyle looked around taking in the interior.


    From the outside the building looked like a military fort that was hiding its strength, inside however this disguising was taken further with carpets and soft lighting being used to lower the harshness of the strong walls. Kyle was looking at the construction and could look past the gloss and could see the strength in these high vaulted corridors. Looking at the means of construction Kyle couldn''t identify the types of materials used but they were different than those used elsewhere in the city and rather than being cemented or fixed together using some other means, they appeared to have been melted or fused together in some unknown fashion. This meant this construction was immensely strong. Shauna had said the other buildings of this type were destroyed or in ruins, but looking at this construction Kyle couldn''t help but gulp and wonder what strength would be required to destroy something like this.


    The others were looking around the entranceway as well appreciating the atmosphere and the aesthetic of the place. Suddenly Kyle turned to Shauna and asked.


    "Why has no one taken this place before?"


    "Well your father placed a block on anyone else taking possession of this property before you asked. Just in case the elder returned and could clear his name, but it has been to long now so it''s yours."


    Deciding not to dawdle Kyle headed further in before reaching another large door. Opening this door Kyle saw a large indoor courtyard with vibrant plants and trees around there was even a fountain being fed by a water creation array. In the centre of this courtyard was the training area which was a little larger than the private training area they had before.


    Closing the door Kyle continued looking around before Shauna called out to him.


    "Shouldn''t you use the control stone and claim the mansion fully."


    Realising he had been day dreaming while looking around Kyle turned sheepishly to those who were following him and said.


    "Yes of course can you lead the way?"


    "Actually no I can''t. This is the first time I''ve been here."


    Hearing Shauna''s reply they all looked at each other before Miranda spoke up.


    "Maybe we should split up and look for the entrance to the formation chamber."


    It is standard practise for the protective formations to be secured in the most protected area to ensure their continued functionality. They headed off in different direction hoping to find the chamber quickly. While the others were wondering around hoping to stumble on the chamber Kyle began thinking. ''I hope this isn''t like every horror movie I''ve ever heard of'' before thinking ''this was a military outpost so the most secure place would be a bunker underground''.


    Having an idea of what he was looking for Kyle began searching for stairs leading down. He didn''t have to look for a long time as the stairs were behind the grand staircase in the entranceway.


    Descending the stairs Kyle thought he would find a dungeon or something along those lines. Instead what greeted him was a massive open area filled with furnaces, alchemy pots and some unknown items. These were all fixed in place and didn''t appear to have been used in a long time.


    Thinking he was on the right track Kyle followed the wall seeing the room gradually brightening as the lighting arrays began drawing power. Eventually Kyle reached the back wall and saw an unusual door there. It was a large semi circular door with no handle, going closer his control stone began to glow and the door began moving downwards beneath the level of the stone floor.


    "That is so cool."


    Kyle shouted when he saw this as he was beginning to feel like some kind of whip wielding grave robber. Entering into the temple of do...formation chamber Kyle could see a large mana crystal with a gold looking metal ring around it. This was a mana power crystal which was another surprise to Kyle as it meant this mansion had its own power source while the other buildings on the estate drew power from the main crystal located in the main building. Also the array looked more complex than what he had seen anywhere else.


    Kyle approached this crystal feeling something close to awe. Others may not be able to sense it but the arrays in this control crystal were vastly different than what he had seen before. In the middle of the gold ring surrounding the crystal was a small aperture for the control stone, Kyle put the stone in and waited for a second while the mana began cycling before he said.


    "Well now that''s different."

 24 Chapter 24 Crystal Mansion

    "Well now that''s different."


    When the mana had completed the start up cycle and began powering the associated arrays there was a burst of light. This wasn''t unexpected as when a mana crystal reaches saturation it would release a mana burst initiating the surrounding arrays so they would in turn start absorbing the mana, it''s like jump starting a car.


    What was unusual was in this burst Kyle could see a series of arrays. These arrays didn''t come from the ones install in the room or in the mansion itself but instead from the mana crystal. The ability to inscribe arrays in mana crystals doesn''t exist or at least it has been lost to history. Even Kyle didn''t think this was possible but seeing this realised he was limiting himself to the knowledge of this world even if he was advancing it using his own views and mindset, he was still being influenced by the common knowledge available to him.


    The arrays that were contained in this mana burst were invisible to everyone else''s eyes but Kyle could see it due to his soul sight. The arrays were beautiful and artfully constructed, however the glyphs used in these arrays were unusual, looking at their layout it appeared more precise and somehow more elegant than the glyphs currently used.


    Kyle decided the most likely situation was that language had evolved over time. As these arrays must be ancient they used an older form or dialect in the creation of the glyphs like comparing old English to contemporary English. As the arrays were passing his eyes Kyle was concentrating on the glyphs which composed these arrays as they may hold a different power or strength than those currently in use.


    As the light began to pass Kyle noticed that the arrays being projected in the light were all damaged or out of tune somehow. Connecting this to the state of the other forts like this within the city Kyle believed that something must have occurred causing the mana to somehow run wild and either destroyed or damaged the other buildings of this type, just leaving this lone sentry standing to this time.


    The damaged arrays began to return to the crystal as the light dimmed but Kyle wanted to know more, so he approached the crystal and placed his hand directly on it and extended his soul sight hoping to get some answers. As his soul sight resolved within the mana crystal Kyle inspected the location his mind generated. It appeared nothing more and nothing less than a crystal copy of his manor. He could see through the walls in the mana to where all the arrays connected to the mana stone were.


    Turning his sight to the location of the formation chamber Kyle could see many arrays within the room. Some of these arrays were new and must have been placed by his mother and other array masters over the years, but beneath these new rougher arrays Kyle began to uncover the older arrays. He could tell the older ones from the newer as the older arrays appeared gold whereas the newer arrays appeared to be almost red in colouration.


    Delving into the older arrays Kyle found several which had a more elegant form of the glyph for defence and the control ring around them was far more complicated. These arrays were for the most part damaged, they were still receiving mana which kept them from deteriorating further but they are by no means functional. He could feel his mana trace within these arrays so he knew they had recognised him as the master of the manor and would do no damage to him and e could repair them without fear of response.


    Focusing on the defence arrays Kyle began the task of untangling the connections to the power source and repairing the control ring. Kyle didn''t know what could damage an array in this way but then again he never knew you could inscribe arrays in a mana crystal so he decided to treat this as a learning experience.


    Starting with the simplest array that he could recognise the language of clearly Kyle progressed with the repair quite easily circulating his mana through the damaged array before it responded and began directing his mana itself. This was a function of the more complex control ring which if it hadn''t been past a certain point would have allowed the array to heal itself. When the array began its self repair Kyle could see which glyph was drawing and directing his mana.


    "It wouldn''t be sensible that if they had this facility to maintain the arrays they wouldn''t have a repair array for the whole formation."


    Talking to himself Kyle began to look for occurrences of this ''healing'' glyph as the centre of any arrays. In short order Kyle found one of these arrays, noting its location he looked for other arrays of this and similar types while the defensive array was still using his mana to repair itself.


    After inspecting the ''crystal mansion'' from top to bottom Kyle had found 5 ''healing'' arrays. 1 of the arrays was located at each of the 4 corners of the mansion while the last was within the crystal itself. Each of these arrays was in turn protected by 2 small scale defensive arrays. These arrays were of the ''barrier'' type but still used the more elegant glyphs which Kyle had decided were the root of the current use of glyphs in array craftsmanship. There was an additional 8 defensive arrays of a larger scale which when activated would overlap creating a defence over the whole mansion this array was different as this carried a glyph meaning ''shield''. This ''shield'' array has been in use in its contemporary form but only on a small scale.


    A ''shield'' array would usually be used when you didn''t want things to pass as it created a physical defence blocking things from passing through but due to a lack of flexibility in use people tended to use ''barrier'' arrays instead. His ''shield'' arrays were far more complex than those seen today and as the controller of the formation chose he could allow things to pass the shield in a single direction.


    There were many other arrays but Kyle needed to study them to learn their secrets but he became distracted by a series of arrays around the outer walls. These arrays had glyphs like ''lightning'', ''fire'', ''sword'', ''arrow'' and ''banish''. Yup you guessed it these were offensive arrays and Kyle got all hot and bothered when he saw this as who wouldn''t want to summon fire and lightning on their enemies.


    This place was truly a fortress which begs the question who and how did they destroy the arrays and possibly other places like this? Deciding not to worry for now Kyle focused on repairing the defence array first. This was completed shortly before Kyle concentrated on repairing the ''healing'' array in the centre of the formation.


    It took a good 30 minutes of concentration before Kyle could complete the repair on this array as he had to be careful with all its complexities. Once Kyle finished he took a breath relaxing his tired mind. Repairing this array was a much harder process than he thought it would be as the mana and concentration required almost drained his tank. Looking towards one of the other ''healing'' arrays Kyle wondered how long it would take to complete the repairs.


    Fortunately when Kyle looked at this array he saw a flow of mana already circulating within it. Tracing this back he found this energy was coming from the central ''healing'' array which was drawing its mana directly from the mana crystal. Deciding to step back and just watch Kyle looked at the other arrays and found the 4 ''healing'' arrays were being repaired simultaneously but none of the others were. This self repair was much faster as the array was programmed in how to repair the other arrays and Kyle could see the correct way to repair and create these arrays.


    Once the other 4 arrays were functional 1 of these arrays sent some energy back to the core ''healing'' array cleaning up the patch job Kyle had done to it before all of these arrays started repairing the other arrays. This was just awesome like seeing a behemoth coming back to life.


    As the arrays were being repaired there were some changes. Once a ''banishment'' array was functional it began to eradicate the newer arrays, some of these were just removed while others were replaced with different arrays mimicking the functionality of those removed like the ''light'' and ''water'' arrays leading Kyle to believe that the mansion may be in some form intelligent or t least adaptive. This was probably due to some of the arrays which Kyle didn''t know the meaning of. But he decided to take this as a good thing as his mana was now traced throughout all the arrays in the mansion due to him being the source at the first ''healing'' array.


    The others had found Kyle a while ago but had seen him standing with his hand on the mana crystal and his eyes were closed. What made them not approach him however was that where his hand was in contact with the crystal was surrounded by a glowing gold array. Not knowing what to do they decided to just wait for Kyle to finish what he was doing and they would only step in if he appeared to be in danger.


    After about 50 minutes Kyle opened his eyes before blinking slightly and turning to the others.


    "Oh sorry did I make you wait long?"


    "It''s okay it has only been about an hour. What were you doing?"


    Shauna was the first to respond but she really wanted to know what Kyle was doing.


    "Okay as long as you''re fine. I was just fixing some of the arrays, we''ve got company."


    Kyle responded as he looked up almost as if he could see through the floor. As his mana was in all the arrays he could tap into the sensor arrays allowing him to know that someone was approaching.


    The others froze for a second not knowing how to respond to Kyle''s sudden statement before he began to head out of the formation chamber and towards the entranceway. The others began to follow after a moment''s hesitation.


    "By the way Bruno, Miranda you should go and speak to your parents as soon as possible to see about the living situation. If you need me I''ll be either here or at the craftsmen''s dining hall."


    Kyle hadn''t forgotten his promise to Randall and as soon as he''d finished with his guests he would head over there. Bruno and Miranda knew Kyle was talking about them moving into the mansion as he''d said earlier. So they hurried behind him so they could discuss this with their families.


    "Good evening."

 25 Chapter 25 Call me Ash just Ash

    "Good evening."


    Suddenly opening the door and greeting his visitors before they had even knocked obviously put his new arrivals on the back foot. There were 3 people at the door 2 of them were family guards under the direct command of Kyle''s father. Even though he recognised their faces he couldn''t place their names as he''d never directly spoken to either of them before. The last man was wearing rags and had his arms and legs chained.


    "Good evening young master. As directed by Lord Landon Powell we have brought prisoner number 21171 known as Ash. He will be released into your custody once you have signed the release paper and the enslavement seal has been transferred."


    The younger of the 2 guards completed his official speech before holding out a roll of paper towards Kyle. An enslavement seal is a form of array which is applied to criminals and debtors when they are placed into slavery or are sold into slavery to pay off a debt. This seal will prevent a slave from attacking the holder of the seal by causing them extreme pain if they attempt to attack or disobey their owner.


    Taking the roll of paper Kyle opened it and inspected the details. It was pretty standard like a contract and just stated Kyle would be liable for any actions his slave took as his owner. At the bottom of the scroll was an array which was the slave seal. Confirming the seal was complete and didn''t have anything strange in it Kyle input his mana into it causing it to glow another seal appeared on Ash''s hand showing the contract was completed.


    "I''m surprised my father sent you over so fast was there any reason?"


    Kyle was happy he could now progress with some of his plans but this was faster than expected and he was curious as to the rush. These things usually take at least 3 days and even with Landon''s involvement it should has at least been a day.


    "No worries lord this guy caused problems for the Miles family and they''re pushing to have him contracted to them. Having him contracted to you will shut them up as he''s no longer a prisoner and we don''t want to turn him over to them."


    Saying his piece the older of the 2 guards saluted towards Kyle and indicated to the younger one that they should get a move on. Turning to his companions Kyle spoke to them.


    "Okay you guys should get moving as well. I''ll see you in a little while, Shauna can you thank my father for me as I''m going to be busy for the next little while and may not get a chance to speak to him privately."


    "No problem."


    "See you soon Kyle."


    "I''ll be back as soon as possible master."


    Seeing the others off Kyle turned his attention to the man in front of him. He was about 6 feet 2 inches tall and was well muscled. His hair and beard were long and unkempt with his fringe covering his eyes. The man radiated a sense of danger but also honour. Kyle remembered police dogs from his last life and the man gave him the same feeling. He could spring into action at the drop of a hat but not against orders.


    "So you''re Ash, can you follow me as I don''t want to speak in the open."


    Kyle turned to his mansion motioning Ash to follow him. The man raised an eyebrow behind Kyle''s back as he didn''t order him as he could rather requested and expected his compliance. He reminded him of a commander he worked under before, who could get his men to follow his orders with only a quiet word. Shaking these thoughts from his head Ash followed behind Kyle keeping his eyes down cast and just thought ''for my family''.


    Kyle thought about where he was going to talk to Ash and decided to speak to him in a study he saw in the on the first floor. Walking towards the study Kyle could hear a clinking sound coming from the chains on Ash. This annoyed him really quickly so he turned around making Ash stop as he was close behind him.


    "Give me your arm."


    Ash held out his arm without any hesitation as he didn''t know the personality of this new lord and he''d seen slaves being tortured by their masters for the smallest of mistakes or just for s*its and giggles if the mood took them.


    Kyle looked at the chain on Ash''s arm and saw it was an enclosed array which prevented the chained person from using mana. There was no key hole so the array was probably the way to release, after a few seconds of study Kyle saw the release in the command ring and activated it.


    The chains fell away from Ash''s arms and legs, while Kyle took them with him.


    Ash upon being released from the chains breathed a sigh of relief and began to rub his wrists before following Kyle. Not having access to his mana was like having a weight pressed on his chest letting him breathe but restricting it.


    Once Kyle reached the study he sat behind the desk then looked at Ash who was still rubbing his wrists trying to help the circulation which was restricted before.


    "Take a seat and tell me about you."


    Kyle this time didn''t ask but ordered from his tone of voice. He needed to get a feeling of this man''s personality and he needed to understand the full situation behind his incarceration.


    "Well what would you like to know Lord Kyle?"


    "Well let''s start with where you came from, how you grew up and what training you''ve been through before we get to the more recent dealings."


    Ash was surprised by Kyle''s choice of information as he thought he would demand to know about his issues with the Miles family. Taking a seat in front of the desk Ash began to organise his thoughts before narrating his biography.


    "Well I''m originally a commoner from a city closer to the capital. I went through the standard basic training that commoners are expected to do before being taken in for national service. While I was in the imperial army I found that I had a gift for the soldier''s life and chose a longer service term and signed in for 8 years. While I was in the army my parents died due to a beast outbreak. They were herb gatherers by the way and the lead family of the city closed the gates before they could return."


    Ash paused here for a moment as his eyes took on a glint and Kyle could feel his anger, even after all this time it still angered him as the lords of his city had left many commoners to die with no assistance. Composing himself Ash continued.


    "After my service was over I wanted to get away from my home town so travelled here as this is the most frontier city in the empire. I met my wife when I arrived, we married 2 years after I got here and had a daughter called Clara."


    As he began speaking about his family Ash''s whole demeanour changed coming out of his dour mood and practically glowing. This is a family man through and through. He didn''t even realise that the way he was talking to Kyle was more like how you speak to a friend or at least not a master, his feelings were telling him this was a good kid and Ash always followed his feelings as they''d saved him and his men''s lives many times.


    "I began as a hunter when I arrived in the city and began to make a name for myself but when Clara was born I decided to change profession and took a position as a guard for the Miles family. It was okay to start with and I was promoted to guard captain due to my military training."


    Here Ash paused as his eyes lost their gentle glow from when he spoke about his family and instead took on a dangerous cast. This was the man who fought men and beasts as a soldier and hunter, you should never look down on a man like this as he had the experience to be a very unpredictable foe. Kyle had already he wanted this man in his inner circle as he was fierce, loving and loyal, once you had his trust he would lay down his life for you without a second of remorse,


    "The problems started when Clara began to get older. She was a pretty child and everyone loved her but some of the younger members of the Miles family began looking at her with ill intent. It came to a head recently when one of the inner members of the family ordered me to bring my daughter to his bedchamber. SHE''S ONLY JUST TURNED 9!!"


    When he reached this point in his story Ash''s anger at what was happening to his family broke through his control and he shouted his last sentence. Kyle knew that this anger wasn''t directed at him so he just let Ash vent his pent up emotions. Calming down Ash looked at Kyle sheepishly.


    "Sorry about that I didn''t mean to shout at you my lord."


    Ash was slightly worried he didn''t believe Kyle would harm him but with the slave seal he could do whatever he wanted.


    "Don''t worry about it, are you okay to continue or do you need a minute?"


    Ash was once again shocked by his new master as he didn''t even raise his voice to him and allowed him to reign in his emotions. Breathing in and out a few times Ash continued his story.


    "I''m okay now, anyway when I received the order I of course refused. We may be commoners but it doesn''t mean we have to give up our children. When I refused the trash came to my home with a few personal guards as the household guards know me and didn''t want to have any dealings with this."


    "Who was the one who was giving the orders?"


    Kyle wanted to get a handle on who he may be offending and what resources they may have to confront him. It never hurts to plan ahead.


    "It''s one of the cousins of the clan head. I think he deals mostly with the haulage of goods for the Miles family. Anyways when they arrived they broke into my home so I defended my family. I killed three guards and managed to land a slash on the tosser''s face before his guards managed to drag him away. But he is vindictive and proud so I knew he''d come back, so I came to your family''s territory. I turned myself into your guards and just asked your elders to protect my family. I wasn''t expecting much but as the lead family you''re the only ones with the authority to block the Miles family from going after my family."


    At this point Ash looked straight at Kyle and smiled at him like he was looking at a favourite nephew.


    "Luckily your mother somehow got wind of what was happening and ordered that my wife and daughter were to be taken in as kitchen staff. As I had attacked a noble I needed to be incarcerated to appease the Miles family in the short term and now here we are."


    Deciding that he can trust Ash, Kyle began to formulate his next steps.


    "Okay I know where to start."

 26 Chapter 26 A little light in the dark.

    "Okay I know where to start."


    Kyle had formulated a plan for Ash and the start was to inform him of his new technique ''breath of deliverance''. Even though Ash was essentially a testing bed to look for possible irregularities at higher cultivation levels, as this was based on existing training methods there shouldn''t be any issues.


    "I''m going to impart my own training technique to you. I and my friends are currently training in this method but you will be the highest level practitioner so there may be unforeseen irregularities. You can refuse this if you choose as I want you to be my chief of guards so the choice is yours."


    Finishing his speech here Kyle leaned back and waited for Ash''s decision. Ash was shocked as there has been almost no new techniques and skills developed for centuries maybe even longer. Thinking through Kyle''s offer Ash decided to trust in this strange young man he''d just met, this was based solely on his gut feeling.


    "I accept, when do we start?"


    "Right now I''ll start by giving you the technique and you''ll begin training with the rest of our people tomorrow."


    Ash felt a warm feeling when Kyle referred to him and the rest as ''our people'' it gave him a sense of belonging to something greater he hadn''t felt since leaving the army.


    Kyle imparted his technique like he did with his friends up to the level he was operating at the moment. He wouldn''t produce a new level to this technique until he himself had reached the required level so he could properly envision it.


    As Ash circulated this technique, he was shocked by the complexity in it. Standard techniques only push mana along set paths but Kyle''s technique requires the user to loop the mana at specific points which has never been done before as far as he knew.


    While Ash had started his training Kyle was using his soul sight to ensure there were no problems with the process. Inspecting Ash''s nodes and channels Kyle could see various points of damage and what he assumed were scars from using incomplete or incorrect techniques and skills. The army provided a basic training regime but the techniques and skills were only at a low level so the rank and file wouldn''t gain enough power to challenge the existing nobility. This seems to have caused damage to the soldier''s bodies over time and weakened the national strength which Kyle found paranoid and stupid.


    As Ash was training Kyle saw something which pleased him greatly. As the mana was circulating, some was bleeding into the damaged areas and was letting them gradually heal. Kyle also didn''t forget to check Ash''s gates. He was looking for any differences between people as that may lead to a greater understanding of the cultivation process.


    Although Ash''s gates were opened more fully the Bruno''s they weren''t as fully open as his mothers even though she was younger. Kyle attributed this to the level of techniques they used as his mother was already at the second stage. This should also mean that with the correct method they should be able to fully open the gates even if the person had already partially opened them. He would wait to experiment with this until Miranda had her first breakthrough so he could see the process in its usual form, but he would wait until she had accumulated a greater than usual mana store.


    Ash continued his training for 20 minutes before gradually coming out of his trance. Standing up he cracked his back while rotating his shoulders.


    "Wow I feel awesome."


    Ash was amazed, with just one session his body felt refreshed and younger. A lot of aches and pains had disappeared some of which he hadn''t noticed until they had gone.


    "Glad to see you''re feeling better. I found out something slightly disturbing however and I''m assuming you have contact with some local army vet''s which this will concern."


    Hearing Kyle speaking Ash stood at attention as he''d fully accepted Kyle as his lord now, but when he heard what Kyle had said his brow furrowed. He did indeed keep in contact with some of the locals who had served in the army. These men had served with honour but once their service was complete or if they were injured they were discarded. These men claimed a pension from the state if they had completed their tour of duty so they would bump into each other at the imperial office when they claimed their pensions and so they all became drinking buddies and eventually established a network. This network was not nefarious or had any grand plans but if work came up and one heard of this he would let the network know and those capable of working would have a head start.


    "What''s the issue you have found?"


    Ash asked Kyle in a monotone keeping his emotions under control as he saw these men as brothers who had been cast away just like he was.


    "There was damage inside your body, I suspect this was caused by the low level techniques you used in the army. The new technique I gave you has already allowed some of the damage to repair itself and over time your condition will continue to improve. I need to see some of the others who used the same techniques to confirm my hypothesis so would you be able to request some of these men to come to the mansion in a couple of days?"


    "Of course let me know when and I can get some to come the same day."


    Ash began to worry about his comrades due to Kyle''s words but he knew better than to push the issue, plus this issue didn''t seem to be an imminent problem so he would follow Kyle''s lead in this.


    "Well since we''ve come this far I think we should stop for now. If you would like to take a room on the first floor and get cleaned up I''ll wait for you here. Oh yes when you''re coming back can you collect a set of armour from the armoury with a helmet."


    Bowing to Kyle Ash headed out and claimed a room just three doors down from the study. Looking around the room Kyle saw it was a large and well appointed room. It had a large en-suite bathroom attached with a shower large enough to take three people with ease.


    This room didn''t have any attached training or cultivation rooms as Kyle''s previous room did. As the mansion appeared to be a functional fort there was a series of cultivation rooms which shared powerful mana accumulation arrays for a more efficient use of space.


    Ash was joyful to finally be able to have a shower and clean himself up after being in prison for a while. Even though the Powell''s treat their prisoners better than other nobles this is different than our world and there are no prisoners rights so the facilities and conditions are much harsher than here.


    Once Ash left Kyle breathed a sigh of relief. He wasn''t scared or anxious but Ash was a bit to ripe and being in close proximity made him wish for some air freshener. After about 15 minutes Ash knocked on the door and re-entered the study.


    The change was drastic after a quick shower and tying back his hair Ash presented a powerful and charismatic figure, he still needed a shave but he didn''t want to keep Kyle waiting. The armour he picked up was a partial scale mail with ring mail at the joints. Looking at him Kyle nodded as he looked intimidating as his chief of guards should be.


    Kyle knew there may be an issue with his identity, but Kyle had planned for this and may roll this plan out to all his guards. Indicating that Ash should come forward he stood at attention in front of Kyle''s desk.


    "Pass me your helmet."


    Kyle requested of Ash and he responded as if he was conditioned to. Even though Kyle had decided to treat all his people equally in the end he was still in charge and even without meaning to, he possessed an aura which compelled people to follow. This was a bleed through effect from the strength of his soul giving him a strong charismatic pull.


    When the helmet was placed on the desk Kyle inspected it. The helmet looked similar to an ancient Greek helmet with a long nose guard between two channels for the eyes. Kyle began to create an array and projected it towards the helmet. This was the first time he used this array, it used the glyph ''hide'' as the core. When the array was complete Kyle passed the helmet to Ash.


    "Alright put it on and let''s see the effect."


    Confused Ash still followed the order and placed the helmet on his head. From Kyle''s view once the helmet was down the view of Ash''s face disappeared and was replaced by dark. The helmet obviously had something inside but you couldn''t see what was in there. It appeared as if there was a shadow wearing armour. Regardless of which direction he looked he couldn''t see in the helmet, even when he brought a light beneath the helmet he couldn''t see past the shadow.


    "Can you see alright?"


    "I can see fine why?"


    When Kyle asked Ash took off his helmet as he was confused by Kyle''s actions. Kyle took the helmet to show ash the effect he''d created. When Ash saw this effect he was shocked.


    "If you can do stuff like this with an array why not do something more powerful?"


    Ash asked a pertinent question as why wouldn''t you place an array on armour to strengthen it.


    "This array is simple it only uses ambient magic to diffuse light. A more powerful array would need directed mana to use and concentrating man during battle would be too hard."


    He left alone that he had placed an array within his sword as this was due in part to the nature of the alloy he''d created.


    "Well your first duty is to take this letter to the kitchens in the main compound and to bring back the provided baggage, once you come back keep at least one of the articles with you the other can be left in a room nearby, any questions?"


    "None sir."


    Ash had a lot of questions but decided to hold them in and just saluted.


    "Okay then I''m going for dinner with the craftsmen. When you return just get some sleep we''ve got another jam packed day tomorrow."


    With that Kyle stood up and headed out followed closely by Ash. As they returned to the more populated areas of the estate they split up.


    Ash headed towards the kitchens in his armour, as people saw him they moved out of the way in fright. Who would know what to do when you see an armoured shadow stomping through the halls?


    As Ash was getting closer to the kitchens he came across Landon and Maria as they were just heading in to dinner. Giving a over the heart salute to show his respect Landon paused and asked.


    "Who are you?"


    "I''m Ash sir your son has just appointed me as his chief of guards."


    Hearing this Landon just smiled and whispered something to Maria who smiled and nodded towards Ash before carrying on. Seeing Landon and Maria move into the dining hall Ash thought of his own family but shook it off as he had a job to do.


    Reaching the kitchens Ash approached the head cook who was watching over the whole proceedings with an eagle eye.


    "My master has asked me to deliver this to you."


    Ash passed the letter Kyle had given him to the cook. When the cook opened the letter 2 pieces of paper came into his hand. Passing one back to Ash he said.


    "This looks like it is for you."


    This piece of paper had ''For my guard'' written on it. Unfolding the paper it was just a simple sentence ''enjoy your dinner''. Ash couldn''t think what that meant before the head chef shouted in a voice more suited for a drill instructor.


    "Oi newbie, you and the runt grab three dinners and follow this guard, you''ve been reassigned."


    Hearing the shout there was a scurry of movement as someone working behind the large shelves began moving things before shouting.


    "Okay we''re coming."


    What appeared before Ash''s eyes were two women, well one woman and one girl carry three large plates. Yup you guessed it this was Ash''s wife and daughter.


    ****POV change****


    Lauren Ash''s wife came around the shelves stacked with various goods after she''d loaded up the plates with today''s menu only to be met with an armoured guard standing next to the head chef. She could swear she saw a shiver when he saw them. Her daughter who was helping her in the kitchen froze seeing this large man with only shadows for a face, but she steeled her nerves before placing both plates on one arm and gripping her daughters shoulder.


    They moved towards the guard who appeared to be staring at them, but as they couldn''t see his face it was hard to tell. As they approached the guard turned away and began to lead the way. Following behind this figure Clara her daughter whispered.


    "Don''t you think the guard is familiar?"


    "I don''t know."


    Responded Lauren there was something tickling the corner of her brain but she couldn''t nail it down. As they walked they left the populated areas and gradually approached Kyle''s mansion. Clara and Lauren began to tire as this was a long trek carrying a food tray but as Clara was about to trip the guard caught her and the tray. He took the tray from her and one from Lauren and carried on walking.


    It was rather comical seeing a large guard carrying dinner trays like that. Clara looked at Lauren who just shrugged and followed behind the guard. Eventually they reached the mansion which looked as intimidating as the guard in the dark. As he reached the door it opened on its own surprising all three of them.


    It appears the intelligence within the mana crystal had used Kyle''s acceptance of Ash as authority for him. The base intelligence the manor appeared to be developing may be more advanced than previously thought. The guard paused for only a moment before continuing while the women crowded a little closer as this was all very clandestine.


    When the guard entered the entrance way he placed the tray''s down on a table before Lauren followed suit. Drumming up her courage Lauren asked the mysterious guard.


    "What will our duties be?"


    As this was her new assignment she wanted to know what was required of her. The guard while still facing away from them took off his helmet and placed it on the table. There was something about his profile which made Lauren freeze, it couldn''t be. Clara saw the odd reaction of her mother and was looking between the guard and her.


    As they watched the guard turned around slowly. They could see tears running down the face which they knew instantly before they ran into his waiting arms.


    "Honey!"


    "Daddy!"

 27 Chapter 27 The first true cliff

    "Honey!"


    "Daddy!"


    Ash caught his wife and his daughter in a hug and held them tight and didn''t ever want to let them go again.


    "Dad it hurts."


    "Honey you''re wearing armour."


    Realising his mistake Ash immediately let them go before sheepishly rubbing the back of his head and said.


    "I''ll get changed can you two wait for me here, I''ll be back in a second."


    Rushing away with red ears Ash presented the opposite of his impressive visage from before and looked more like an embarrassed schoolboy which elicited a giggle from his family.


    "Mom what do you think is going on?"


    Clara asked as she didn''t expect any of this and she took a quick look around the entrance of this mansion. Even though it appeared scary from the outside, after being reunited with her father it appeared homely and warm to her. Lauren was no less confused as she knew the reason they had come to the Powell household and she also never thought she would see her husband again so this threw her emotions for a loop.


    Ash quickly returned to them and after a more comfortable hug, led them to his new quarters. His family began looking around before Clara said.


    "Wow is this our new home, but where''s my bed I don''t see anywhere I can sleep?"


    "No this is where your mother and I will sleep you''re getting your own room."


    Clara and Lauren widened their eyes at this as the room they were currently in was larger than their previous house. Seeing their expressions Ash sat down with them and explained what had happened over dinner.


    ****POV change****


    While Ash was enjoying his family time Kyle was heading towards the dining hall. He was happy that he would be able to speak to Randall and the blacksmiths again as he wouldn''t need to worry about the way he spoke as they were simple people who were dedicated to their art and didn''t worry about decorum so it should be a fun night.


    Kyle was also hopping to run into Nettie as she carried such a grandmotherly aura around her you couldn''t help but like her.


    As he was walking he noticed he''d entered an area where the light arrays were not active. This was confusing as the family had a few people who inspected the estate and would report any failing arrays so his mother or an array master from the guild could come and repair them.


    Approaching one of the arrays Kyle inspected it and found the glyphs had been disrupted. This would only last for a few minutes before they came live again. Getting a bad feeling Kyle put his hand on his sword hilt before he inspected the surroundings. Currently his soul sight range wasn''t strong enough to detect more than a meter or two outside of himself but with the strengthening of his body his sight and hearing had improved beyond normal human levels.


    Looking into the darkness Kyle could make out 5 figures approaching him. All of them had the large swords which everyone in this world used, even for assassination they didn''t intend to change to smaller more inconspicuous weapons and the disruption of the light only succeeded in putting him on guard.


    Kyle thought of this situation as he prepared himself for combat and couldn''t help but realise this attempt on his life was childish and had a good chance of failing, while the poison plot was slow, methodical and even if unsuccessful would leave the perpetrator scot free.


    When the enemy was with 2 meters of him they began to use skills. Their arms began to glow almost in unison as they all struck with heavy overhead strikes. Kyle moved to the left avoiding this stupid attack, I mean who has all their people attack at once with the same strike.


    When the strike hit the ground there was a loud clank as their swords hit one another and the ground cracked due to the force. While they were tangled up Kyle moved to his first target and slashed at their Achilles tendon on their ankle. His sword passed through with no resistance and the first victim fell howling at the sudden pain and shocked they couldn''t stand.


    The other assassins pulled back but didn''t give up. Learning from their first strike one of them spoke in a muffled voice.


    "You two go forward and engage him we''ll surround him."


    This was a plan on the fly and wasn''t thought out and considering they said the plan aloud showed that these weren''t professionals. As the two in front came towards him they thought he would step back allowing the other two time to engage him in a pincer move. This may work sometime but only when the target can''t break through the front line.


    Instead of stepping back Kyle rushed forwards shocking the two he was approaching. They tried to do a lateral slash forcing him back but Kyle merely used his hand on the flat of one of the blades raising it into the path of the other as the attackers hadn''t given themselves enough room to move properly. Pivoting to the right Kyle swung his sword again catching another tendon, a little higher this time just behind the knee. Two down three to go Kyle thought and started to grin, he didn''t know he was doing this and this was his first real battle however his mentality had been forged by the pain he''d suffered before he''d been reborn and he knew death wasn''t the end so this created a certain fearlessness in the face of danger but all he knew was he was having fun.


    The other member of this vanguard saw Kyle''s smile and shivered before he tried to bring his sword around to attack again, but before he could even get into position to strike Kyle was on him. Kyle didn''t even use his sword and instead struck them in the solar plexus with a hard palm strike. Kyle wanted to get a reference on his current strength as he''d used martial arts to beat others rather than his strength and he wanted to get an idea of his baseline.


    The attacker felt as though a granite block had hit him in the chest causing him to be unable to breathe and they thought that there was probably a rib or two broken from that on strike. How was this the strength of a level 0 or even a level 1? This was more like the strength of someone level 5 or even higher.


    Three down two to go. As Kyle had struck the vanguard the remaining attackers didn''t get a chance to respond and could only watch as a smiling Kyle took out their comrades in 2 moves. They didn''t get a chance to observe for long as Kyle headed to the one on the left, he''d decided the one who spoke was probably the leader and he needed the leader to be alive and scared so he can get some information out of them.


    The attacker thinking he was Usain Bolt turned and tried to run but he didn''t get more than two steps before he felt a blinding pain at the back of his neck where Kyle had struck him with the hilt of the sword knocking him out with no fuss.


    Four down one to go. Kyle turned to the last attacker who appeared to be frozen in place, they were holding their sword out in front of them but it was shaking. Kyle didn''t know if the shaking was due to fear or from the weight of the sword, but he approached calmly with his katana held low to his side.


    The attacker was scared, this kid should be dead and they should already be heading out of the estate through the route their employer had prepared. But as they say s*it happens, the Kyle who smiles gradually approached his prey trying to decide the best way to subdue this would be killer so he could question them later.


    When he was in striking range he used the flat of his blade to slap away his enemies sword, expecting a counter and return strike Kyle was disappointed as the enemies blade flew out of their hand striking a wall nearby making them both turn towards it then back to each other while the attackers hands were still out in front of them.


    "Um well that was anti climactic, I guess you yield?"


    The attacker didn''t speak but only fell to their knees. Expecting another attack Kyle trained his senses around himself while carefully approaching his attacker. Grabbing their hood Kyle pulled it off and saw the face of the leader of these half baked assassins.


    "I should have guessed it was you."

 28 Chapter 28 Bitch slap who

    "I should have guessed it was you."


    The person in front of Kyle was none other than his dad''s new maid. Kyle had never bothered to learn her name as he didn''t trust her from the start.


    "Damn it how did this happen, you''re nothing but trash!"


    Coming out of her shock she began to spout bull, but Kyle wasn''t interested. Looking at her and the other attackers Kyle judged they were nothing but local thugs. The skill they used while more powerful than the basic skills taught during national service were nothing special so many people would have access to them.


    Kyle knew these people weren''t capable of arranging this attack with the arrays being disrupted and even accessing the estate without authorisation would probably be beyond them, so someone had ordered this attack. He didn''t think these low grade slobs would have much information and they had probably been ordered to attack to throw off suspicion by throwing them under the bud.


    The fight had been fast and aggressive causing a great deal of noise and within seconds the sounds of hurrying feet could be heard. Coming around the corner was a guard squad comprising 7 men. The captain of the squad looked at the people on the ground before turning his sight towards Kyle. The captain''s look of disdain didn''t escape Kyle''s perception. It looked like the captain was an ass, however the rest of the guards were looking at the wounds on the attackers with looks of surprise.


    "Wow look at this injury, this guy was disabled with one strike!"


    "Same over here, what skill did this?"


    "Enough! You there what happened here?"


    The captain getting annoyed by the yammering of his subordinates shouted at them before rounding on Kyle and demanded information from him. Kyle raised an eyebrow at the attitude of this captain, even if Kyle was low levelled he was still afforded a degree of respect as the son of the family head. This captain was suspicious as the timing of this attack and the arrival of this squad was too close to be legitimate. Thinking that he may be able to use this to gain some leads he decided to play this out.


    "I''m the son of Landon Powell head of the family and you will address me as such!"


    Exerting his soul force when he said this gave him an imposing aura making all the guards including the captain step back. Even though they were of a higher level than he was the pressure created by soul force couldn''t be resisted by them.


    "I''m sorry sir, would you kindly let me know what happened here please."


    The captain immediately dropped his attitude once he was pressured, he seemed to be one who would use his authority to intimidate those weaker than he was but would immediately crumble when encountering those stronger than him.


    "I was attacked by these five while heading towards dinner. I want them taken to my personal mansion, it''s the one at the northern outskirts. Take them there immediately, my guard captain is there so explain the situation to him when you arrive."


    "But shouldn''t they be taken to the cells in the main compound?"


    The captain asked while sweating slightly as the pressure Kyle had put on him had intimidated him greatly. Kyle just looked at him for a second before another set of footsteps could be heard approaching. Entering the light was none other than Isaiah the newly appointed steward of the Powell family.


    "What''s happening here?"


    Isaiah was looking from the injured people to the guards who had taken a defensive formation then to Kyle who was standing calmly but with his sword drawn.


    "Not too much Isaiah, I was just attacked by these five and then was about to be interrogated by this idiot of a guard captain."


    Upon hearing this Isaiah looked at the captain waiting for his response.


    "This is a misunderstanding, we didn''t realise who the young sir was and he has ordered us to take these people to his mansion and I wanted to confirm this was the correct course of action."


    "Don''t question the young master''s order. Take them to his mansion and I''ll inform the family head about this, also don''t mention this to anyone am I understood? Kyle would you be so kind as to come with me for a moment, I would like to understand the situation before I report to your father."


    "Of course Isaiah, will it be okay if we carry on walking to the craftsmen''s dining hall as I don''t want to be late for an appointment."


    Isaiah and Kyle began moving ahead while the guards began treating the attackers so they wouldn''t bleed out before hauling them out of the area.


    "So Kyle what was going on back there?"


    Isaiah was very astute and could feel the weird vibe in the air back there.


    "Pretty simple really, that guard captain was really suspicious and I think he was involved with that attack so I''m going to give him enough rope to hang himself with. Hopefully this will disrupt the plans of whoever organised this and will force them to move exposing themselves. I think this was related to the poisoning and they are tying off loose ends. Either the attackers would kill me and they could then dispose of them later with no one the wiser or I would survive and they would be dead."


    Thinking through Kyle''s reasoning Isaiah found it is the most likely outcome from the attack, but he still had some doubts.


    "Why would they try to kill off your father''s maid, surely she would still be of some use and what was going on with the guards?"


    "Remember this morning I asked her to leave? I think the one pulling the strings knew I didn''t trust her and decided to remove a possible loose end. I doubt she has any useful information, but they won''t take the chance and will need to move to cover this up. If they move we can begin to see what resources they have available. In regards to the guards, it wasn''t the guards but their captain. His attitude and the timing of his arrival is all suspect, I believe he altered the patrol route to allow this attack to happen and he would arrive just after to survey the results."


    Isaiah was impressed with Kyle''s hypothesis and agreed this was very likely and decided to report to Landon right away, before he could leave Kyle asked him to pass on a message.


    "Isaiah could you also ask my father to authorise the reallocation of some personnel. I want to move Nettie and Randall and his team to my mansion. He should know about the new things we produced so I would like to keep these out of others hands until we can get a handle on this situation. I will also begin organising my personal guard as soon as possible."


    Listening to Kyle Isaiah thought this would be a good idea as with the hidden currents within the family it didn''t make sense to arm their enemies, particularly when they exposed but the enemies were still hidden. Nodding to Kyle Isaiah headed back to the main hall to inform Kyle''s parents of what had just transpired. He only hoped Landon could reign in his anger, with his son being attacked it was entirely possible Landon would take matters into his own hands.


    Kyle carried on towards the dining hall. As he approached he saw the craftsmen''s dining hall wasn''t as imposing as the main hall but it was light and sounded much more fun, he could hear cheering shouting and singing with the occasional crashing sound in for good measure. It appeared these guys really enjoyed their time off.


    Realising these people were not likely to be involved in this conspiracy as what could they do to influence the situation, Kyle relaxed a little and let some of the tension leave his shoulders before he pushed open the door and entered.


    This hall looked more like a large tavern, there was a bar which was serving alcohol and food with a lot of tables for four people spread over the floor area. There was an upstairs balcony with more tables and appeared to be a lot quieter than the ground floor.


    Smiling to himself Kyle began looking around for Randall before hearing a shout.


    "HEY KID YOU FINALLY ARRIVED, GET READY TO DRINK!!!"


    "SHUT UP YOU BALD BASTARD BEFORE A BITCH SLAP YOU AGAIN!!!"

 29 Chapter 29 Just like the wild wes

    "HEY KID YOU FINALLY ARRIVED, GET READY TO DRINK!!!"


    "SHUT UP YOU BALD BASTARD BEFORE A BITCH SLAP YOU AGAIN!!!"


    ****CRAAAASHHH****


    The first shout was from Randall who had just seen Kyle at the door and the second shout came from a table to the left which had red faced Nettie looking daggers at Randall, finally the crash was from the chair Nettie had yanked from under a shocked apprentice who was now flat on his back, which was thrown hitting Randall making him fly into some tables to the right.


    This seemed to be a spark which made the whole hall erupt like a western bar fight, there were people flying left and right, others were being launched through doors and windows only to climb straight back through and continue the fight.


    After Randall had dug himself out of the debris of the table he grabbed the two people nearest to him by the head and began spinning them around taking out the surrounding people before throwing them out of an already busted window.


    As Randall was looking for his next target an equally built individual charged him.


    "LET''S GO LITTLE BROTHER!!"


    The Randall look alike and Randall locked hands and began a contest of strength with neither able to get an upper hand on the other. Kyle looked at the source of this chaos and saw a calm Nettie sitting back at her table, sipping sherry without a care in the world. Looking at the contestants for tonight''s entertainment Kyle saw they were all avoiding Nettie like they were scared of her.


    Deciding not to worry about it Kyle headed towards the bar as he was now very hungry and wanted to get some food. Weaving through the battlefield like a shadow Kyle eventually arrived at the bar, there was no one visible but when he heard a soft clink he looked over the bar. The barman was sat on the floor with a bottle of clear alcohol and a shot glass and was having a little party on his own. The area of the bar where the drinks are stored was covered in a heavy mesh leading Kyle to think this was a regular occurrence.


    "Rough night?"


    Kyle asked with a smirk. The barman looked up to see Kyle looking down at him and just responded with a grin.


    "Nah it''s always like this but Nettie is celebrating for some reason so Randall got in trouble when he disturbed her."


    "Really I thought Nettie was just a nice lady. By the way any chance of getting some food?"


    As Kyle was speaking to the barman a bottle was heading towards his head from behind. The barman was just about to warn him when Kyle reached back and caught the bottle placing it on the bar in front of him. He''d left his soul sight up around himself since the attack just in case and with the range of a couple of meters he had more than enough time to catch the projectile with room to spare.


    "Yeah Nettie is usually nice and looks after everyone but when she''s had a few you don''t want to ruin her buzz. Anyways what would you like we''ve got a pie and veg or steak and veg?"


    "I''ll go for the steak please."


    Kyle had always been a fan of steak even if he couldn''t remember it, it was still a conditioned response so he just went with it. While waiting for his food Kyle looked at the wreckage, everyone was starting to calm down and pull themselves together correcting tables and chairs while lamenting the lost drinks. The only 2 who were still fighting were Randall and his brother, this came to a swift end when Randall kneed his brother in the plums eliciting a wince from all the surrounding men.


    "HA HA I TOLD YOU I''M THE OLDER BROTHER."


    Randall looked around and seeing Kyle at the bar left his brother in the foetal position and joined Kyle at the bar.


    "Cletus gimme a beer. You alright Kyle you didn''t get mixed up in any of that did ya?"


    Randall may be a bone head and idiot sometimes but he does care about people and remembering Kyle''s age he was worried he may have got hurt in the tussle even if it would have been unintentional.


    "Nope I''m fine and dandy but I am curious as to why Nettie hit you with a chair."


    Randall grinned a bit at this and cleared his throat before receiving a slap around the back of the head. Turning to the culprit in anger this quickly disappeared when he saw a smiling Nettie looking like her grandmotherly self again. Nettie spoke up on his behalf.


    "I''m the older cousin of these two idiots and have been keeping them under control since we were kids while our parents were out working."


    While Nettie said this she looked at Randall and then at his brother who was still on the ground nursing his balls and groaning. Her look was half exasperation and half amusement.


    "Yeah sis Nettie has always looked after us and when we got this gig she came along to keep us out of trouble."


    When Kyle heard this he struggled to keep from laughing as Nettie seemed to be fighting a losing battle on this front.


    "Oh yes I can see that she''s doing well there."


    Before he looked around at the devastation around them which made both the culprits have almost identical embarrassed looks. This was too much for Kyle at this point.


    "Pfffftt HAHAHAHAHA!"


    Laughing for the first time since he got here Kyle finally thought it wouldn''t be too bad living here. Randall and Nettie were shocked seeing Kyle laughing like this as he always seemed smart and stoic but he was laughing like he was one of them without any barriers between them. Randall and Nettie found Kyle''s belly laugh funny in and of itself and started laughing along with him. This seemed to be a fuse and before long everyone was back to singing and laughing again. People who were punching each other minutes ago were passing each other drinks and Randall''s brother was forgotten passed out on the floor.


    "Actually this is a good opportunity to speak to you both. Is there somewhere quiet we can talk?"


    Kyle asked while wiping a tear from his eye where he had been laughing. Cletus arrived at this point with Kyle''s steak and Randall''s beer.


    "You guys can take the second floor. There are only a couple of people up there so just send them down here until you''re finished."


    "Thanks Cletus, what do I owe you for the food?"


    "Don''t worry about it I''ll put it on Randall''s bill with the cost of the repairs."


    "OI!"


    Kyle asked Cletus what he owed for the food but Randall instead got lumped with the bill. Taking his food he led the way upstairs with a giggling Nettie and a depressed Randall. Looking around there were only 3 people upstairs around one table. Randall began to head towards them before Kyle stopped him.


    "Don''t worry about it, let''s head over there."


    Moving to a table as far as possible away from the other people, Kyle projected a powerful isolation array around their table shocking Nettie as she hadn''t seen him use his array mastery before. For his part Randall just whistled and said.


    "I''ve seen it before but it''s still impressive."


    Taking in the praise Kyle just smiled a little before cutting a piece of steak and put it in his mouth.


    "Ummm this is really good, I''ll have to come back with my friends when I know Nettie isn''t celebrating. What were you celebrating anyway?"


    "Oh I''ve completed one of each of the sets you gave me the designs for earlier and they''ve come out better than I thought they would."


    This shocked Kyle as he didn''t think it could be done that fast.


    "Well colour me shocked I didn''t think you could get them ready that fast, you''ve impressed me again."


    "Wait those new designs you showed me earlier were designed by Kyle. He showed me a completely unknown method of forging earlier! Who are you?"


    Kyle on hearing Randall took a napkin and wiped his mouth before standing and giving a smooth bow to them both.


    "I''m Kyle Powell son of Landon Powell, heir to the Powell family and it is my pleasure to make your acquaintance."


    Nettie wasn''t shocked as she already knew Kyle''s identity Randall however began to panic.


    "I''m sorry for my earlier rudeness and fighting in front of you and and."


    Randall''s reaction being so scared and surprised made Kyle take pity on him.


    "Randall its okay calm down, you don''t need to put on a false front for me. Anyway I wanted to give you a heads up but as of tomorrow you''ll both probably be working directly under me. The both responded in the same way.


    "WHATT??"

 30 Chapter 30 My pretty

    "WHATT??"


    Randall and Nettie had identical looks of shock at Kyle''s statement. Why were they going to be reassigned under this kid had they done something wrong what was the situation that pre-empted this move?


    "I can''t explain the full situation as we aren''t in a secure location. I imagine father will give some random reason for the move but when you get to my mansion I''ll be able to explain everything fully."


    "Ok Kid I''ll listen to you but you''ll have to look after my guys."


    "Very well Kyle, do you think I could bring some more apprentice tailors with me?"


    "No problem Randall when this goes through you''ll be my people and I look after my guys. With regards to apprentices it shouldn''t be a problem as long as father authorises it."


    Breathing a sigh of relief at Kyle''s assurances Randall and Nettie had a few more drinks while making small talk with Kyle. As Kyle was able to hold an interesting conversation with them both regardless of the age difference they both began to treat him as someone close to their ages instead of a child.


    Once Kyle finished his dinner he bade them both farewell as he knew that tomorrow was going to be hectic. He would also need to direct his father''s anger at a target because with his personality it would be more the strange if he didn''t respond to the attack against Kyle. Luckily there was a ready and willing scapegoat. This was in the form of the Miles family, as Ash''s former employer and having bad blood with him if news got out about Kyle taking him in it wouldn''t be a far stretch for a dark family like them to attack in a fit of hubris.


    With this in mind Kyle took a leisurely stroll back to his mansion with the idea to plan out his next steps before going to bed. Kyle was a firm believer in the adage ''luck favours the prepared mind''. Upon reaching the entrance doors Kyle was surprised when they opened themselves and he felt a warm flow of mana wash over him. It was like the mansion was welcoming him home on its own. It looked like the mana crystal personality was more developed than he''d originally thought and he would need to look into what it was capable of and also to make sure it was stable. There were too many fears about AI in his old world. He could remember a few stories he had read about the laws of robotics and TV shows and movies which centred on AI takeovers.


    Deciding that he would look into this before he started to create his to do list he began to head to the study he used earlier as he''d decided to use this as his main office because it seemed rather comfortable and welcoming.


    Entering the corridor where his office was located, Kyle was surprised to see a young girl going into the rooms for a moment or two before coming back out and going into a different room. This must be Ash''s daughter thought Kyle and decided to introduce himself to her as she would be living here for now.


    "Good evening."


    "Eeeepp....I mean who are you?"


    "Well I''m Kyle but you should really introduce yourself before asking for someone else''s name, it''s only polite."


    Hearing Kyle''s words the girl got a little shy before she gave a clumsy curtsy and introduced herself.


    "Good evening I''m Clara my father Ash is the guard captain for this mansion and its master."


    After she finished her introduction she looked at Kyle expectantly as she was waiting for him to give a proper introduction.


    "Nice to meet you Clara, why are you looking through all the different rooms?"


    Deciding to dodge the implied question of why he was here Kyle instead asked a direct question which threw Clara off her pace. Looking over her shoulder she said to Kyle


    "I''m looking for a bedroom as my parents have been apart for a long time and they asked if they could get some ''special time'' together. I don''t know what they mean but I always do what papa asks."


    Clara dropped this sentence with the innocence only a young child can muster. Kyle didn''t feel awkward about this as she didn''t understand the context and he believed that her parents could definitely do with a bit of slap and tickle before they got to work tomorrow.


    "Well that''s good Clara, there are also bedrooms on the second floor if you wanted a bedroom with a view."


    Leaving these words with the young girl Kyle carried on down the hallway towards his office before he was stopped again when Clara could no longer contain her curiosity.


    "Wait who are you and what are you doing."


    "Well I told you I''m Kyle and currently I''m walking down this hall."


    Kyle decided to tease this girl a little as she was so innocent he couldn''t help but find it cute. Clara puffed her cheeks when she heard his response, she knew he was doing this intentionally but couldn''t help but bite. Raising her fist towards him she took a step forward before saying.


    "You have to tell me what you''re doing, my dad is the guard captain so if you don''t I''ll go and get him."


    Not wanting to ruin Ash''s fun time Kyle decided to answer Clara.


    "I''m Kyle Powell son of Landon Powell, heir to the Powell family, owner of this mansion and your father''s employer. It''s my pleasure to make your acquaintance young miss. With regards to what I''m doing I''m heading to my office to complete my plans for world domination."


    When Clara heard this statement she was at first shocked and when she heard of Kyle''s plans she became frightened and pale. When Kyle saw her like this he couldn''t hold it in anymore.


    "Pffttttt your face HAHAHAHA."


    Realising Kyle had messed with her again Clara went red to the ears. Kyle turned to the hall again and carried on to his office. When he entered he found Clara was still behind him.


    "Yes can I help you?"


    "Until I''m sure who you are I need to keep an eye on you. If you do anything suspicious I''ll get daddy right away."


    "Meh do as you want."


    Deciding it didn''t matter if she was there on not Kyle sat behind his desk before taking up a pen and paper. Clara decided to sit on one of the couches to the side of the entrance so she could keep an eye on whatever Kyle was doing.


    Kyle took a pen and paper out from one of the drawers in the desk and began to write an agenda down. Even with his enhanced mental faculties it would still help to write down what points he needed to focus on.


    1. Increase his and his people''s strength.


    2. Establish a connection with a great guild


    3. Explore this new mansion and unlock its secrets


    4. Uncover the conspiracy and deal with the source


    The last of these points caused Kyle to pause as he knew he would probably have to fight and kill during this period of time. While he thought of himself as being pragmatic and having a firm will. The truth is he''d never been in a life and death battle, he didn''t consider the fight previously as one because he was never in any real danger which gave him the leeway to disarm his attackers without killing them.


    The best option he could find to prepare for this was to either fight and kill the bandits who reside between the cities or to do some bounty hunting within the city, due to his age the second one was already off the table which left the first option. He decided he would have to organise a beast hunting trip outside of the walls and aim for where bandits had been seen so he and the young people who were now his team could experience this side of life in a more controlled environment.


    He would speak to Ash about this as he would need him as backup if he or the others couldn''t complete this for whatever reason. Currently all of these would take time but he could make a start on looking at the mansion right now. As he thought about this the mansion seemed to respond to his desire and a control array appeared floating in front of him. Clara on seeing this beautiful golden array floating in front of Kyle as if awaiting his command couldn''t help but comment.


    "Pretty."

 31 Chapter 31 Thank you and goodnigh

    "Pretty."


    The golden array was a remote access to the mana crystal within the mansion and by using his soul sight Kyle could access the entire system. It allowed him to control the defences of the mansion from anywhere within its grounds. Unfortunately this access didn''t extend beyond the mana range of the mansion but Kyle would look into ways of extending this range later.


    Looking at the crystal mansion Kyle began to explore the layout using the arrays as a medium. Starting at the top and working his way down he began to draw a plan of the mansion floor by floor. While he was doing this Clara was watching him, his hand was still on the array and his eyes were glowing with a golden hue. It appeared as if he was doing something like automatic writing from our world as he never looked at the paper he was using but his pen never stopped.


    Clara found this all to be really mystical and had no intentions of leaving or disturbing him and just rested her head on the arm rest of the couch she was on and continued to observe.


    As Kyle delved deeper into the mansion he began to find chambers and passages that were not accessible normally. These areas were either hidden mechanically with secret entrances like something from a bad horror novel or behind coded illusion arrays of different types. The coding on these arrays was a combination lock and if you didn''t enter the correct code the mansion would defend itself. Kyle could see these codes due to his connection to the mana crystal and it appeared that they had not been opened since before his family took ownership of this area.


    When Kyle finally reached the basement level where the formation chamber he was surprised as his view of the mana crystal had changed from before and it appeared as a golden chrysalis surrounded by many different arrays. These arrays were all of the single glyph type but here there were hundreds if not thousands working in a formation together. This was beyond his current understanding because as far as he was aware this many arrays shouldn''t be able to work in a single formation without collapsing. Sighing about this he thought about the loss of knowledge as the ability to create something of this nature must have been lost either due to time or war.


    Deciding to look at the functions of this formation Kyle used his mind to produce a triple glyph array composing of ''inspect'', ''observe'' and ''analyse'' glyphs this should give him a good overview of the purpose of this formation and what was happening to the mana crystal. When his array came in contact with the mana crystal something unexpected happened.


    His array touched the crystal and instead of relaying back a breakdown of the crystal itself the array was instead broken down. Rather than collapsing the individual parts were separated and began to swirl around with different parts coming closer to the crystal before being replaced with another section. One by one the different pieces were swirled around gradually getting faster and then the swirl became out of order as different pieces were inspected more thoroughly.


    Finally the swirl slowed down and eventually stopped before the array was rebuilt and entered the crystal as if the strange occurrence had never happened in the first place. The information Kyle got back was more than he could process in the short term, as what he saw was a golden space filled with innumerable arrays but these arrays were not static, they were in fact changing from second to second with different glyphs and control rings. He didn''t know what to make of this and just chalked it up as another mystery to resolve.


    Kyle drew his attention back from the crystal and checked this basement to see if there was anything else down there. He wasn''t disappointed as behind the staircase leading down he found another illusion array blocking steps leading further down. Letting his sight go down these stairs he found another chamber equal in size to the one above.


    This lower chamber was a surprise as it didn''t look like anything he had seen anywhere else yet. The walls sloped in towards a raised pedestal which had a floating sphere above it. There was mana pouring down from the crystal above and was being absorbed by this sphere but there were no arrays or any obvious ways for this sphere to alter the man it just seemed to get sucked in and disappear.


    When using his sight through the arrays and mana crystal Kyle can see the flow of mana and its connected components, so for example he can see walls and arrays but he couldn''t see furniture and he could only see people if they were drawing mana from one of the collection formations. This means the sphere is connected but the means of this connection was beyond him. There may be things in this room that could explain this so he would need to check but there wasn''t any rush as this room had been sealed as the previous areas had been.


    Thinking this must be the last room Kyle still did a cursory check around just in case and was amazed to find another illusion array once again beneath the stairs, indicating that there was another sub basement below this one. Thinking this will be the last one Kyle dove down to see.


    This basement while not as eldritch as the one above still amazed as it was huge. It was larger than the whole mansion above and stretched to about 20km squared. There wasn''t anything that he could detect in this area but there were many arrays such as ''lighting'', ''water'' and ''heat'' so there were the basic necessities there were also various reinforcement formations supporting the ground above.


    There was nothing to do in this area and he would need to look into what it was meant to be used for, but he decided to call it a night as he hadn''t properly slept in 2 days and while he may be fine because of his cultivation he didn''t see the point in taking the chance and plus he was mentally tired and a good sleep may help to put things into perspective.


    Pulling out of his soul sight Kyle stretched and looked at the plans he had drawn for his mansion it was composed of three above floors and three below with rooming for over 200 people and assorted training facilities. This didn''t include the new secret areas he had found so he was again reminded that this mansion looked like a fort built for war.


    Standing from his desk he saw Clara lying on a couch by the door fast asleep. He approached her intending to wake her up so she could go to her room and get a proper night''s sleep.


    "Daddy."


    As he neared her she spoke out in her sleep and smiled to herself in her dream. Seeing her relaxed and happy face he couldn''t bring himself to wake her and ruin her dream, instead he carefully lifted her bringing her head close to his shoulder intending to take her to a room next door. As he approached the doorway he was expecting to struggle with it but once again appearing to understand his intention the mansion opened the door by its own volition.


    Not bothering to worry about this Kyle headed to a room next to his study which had a bed. The door was already open and waiting so Kyle carried Clara into the room and put her to bed before leaving and closing the door behind him.


    Walking to the entranceway Kyle wanted to claim a bedroom on the second floor he''d seen in his mental roaming. As he approached this room the door opened and the lighting came alive. Looking around this room Kyle was impressed. All the rooms on the first floor were smaller while on the second they were larger. Also the layout had the larger bedrooms facing the inner courtyard with other facilities at the outer wall, while the first floor had the rooms more equally arranged between the inner and outer facing walls. This made Kyle believe the second floor was meant for higher ranked members.


    Kyle prepared for bed and realised he hadn''t brought fresh clothes for tomorrow so he''d have to stop by his old room to pick up his gear. He climbed into bed and shutdown the lights before he felt that warm brush of mana again the same as he felt when he first got home. He felt this was the mansion saying goodnight to him so he responded in kind.


    "Thank you and goodnight."

 32 Chapter 32 Work boy

    "Thank you and goodnight."


    Kyle slept particularly well that night and awoke when the first light of the sun peeked through his bedroom window. Getting up Kyle got ready for another busy day and after showering and brushing his teeth he looked at the pile of dirty clothes on the floor and regretted not thinking of bringing a change of clothes. Even with an enhanced memory and thought process humans can still overlook the simple things.


    While pretending to think philosophically there was a gentle knock at his door. Kyle was already wearing a towel so he didn''t think about it and just spoke out.


    "Enter."


    The door opened and framed with the light behind her was Miranda carrying a large bag. Upon seeing Kyle standing there in nothing but a towel her eyes quickly travelled over him before snapping back and her face, ears and neck went a dark red colour.


    "I''m sorry!"


    She shouted before throwing the bag in the room and slamming the door shut. Not minding this little domestic disaster Kyle walked over to where the bag had fallen and upon opening it he found clothes of various different styles from his wardrobe in the main compound. It''s good to have people to back you up Kyle thought as he began to dress in a clean training outfit.


    Opening his door he saw Miranda was still standing there with a burning face. Deciding not to comment on this as he thought she may pass out due to mental overload Kyle led the way back to the main entranceway.


    When they arrived Kyle was met with a middle aged man and a middle aged woman.


    "Good morning young lord Kyle."


    They spoke in unison as if they had practised this many times. Looking over his shoulder at Miranda he just asked.


    "Your parents?"


    "Yes sir, when they heard about making a team and they would be able to live here they both agreed as they didn''t want to live apart yet."


    Looking back at Miranda''s parents Kyle gave them an appraisal. Both of them had brown hair, her dad was about 5 feet 10 inches and her mum was around 5 foot 6 inches. Her father also had some scars visible on his slightly muscular arms while her mum gave a jolly and comforting vibe.


    "Good morning could you tell me about yourselves?"


    "Well yes sir I''m Liam and this is my wife Iris, I work as a hunter and the missus looks after the house and does some cooking on the side."


    Kyle smiled at Liam as he could see he was trying to be well mannered but it slipped rather easily. Iris looked apprehensively towards Kyle when her husband''s manners slipped as some nobles would take this as an insult and people have been punished for less. She was able to breathe easier when she saw Kyle didn''t get angry and even smiled at Liam''s mode of speech.


    "Oh excellent I take it Miranda has spoken about some of my plans? So would you both like to work for me? Currently I don''t have a staff to look after the mansion so would you be able to work as a cook or general housekeeper and Liam I would like you to assist us in preparing for working as hunters to get some live training."


    Miranda''s parents were surprised with Kyle''s immediate acceptance of them into his household and even wanted them to work directly for him. They thought that Kyle was sweet on their daughter and offered them rooms based on this.


    Liam was especially impressed with Kyle as he was going to suggest that he accompany them when they went out the first couple of time as a guide, but he was worried as young nobles are usually arrogant Kyle however wanted his knowledge and experience which was a first for him as even young hunters from a commoner background usually thought they knew it all and would ignore the advice they were given.


    "I don''t know how much help we can be but we''ll be happy to help."


    Liam immediately spoke up as this could be a great opportunity with Iris nodding along happy to be able to spend more time with her family as they spent a great deal of time separated due to their working conditions.


    "Alright that''s decided then, let''s go and get some breakfast."


    As Kyle began to move there was a knock on the door. He didn''t get an alert from the mansion when Miranda arrived or when these people approached so he didn''t know if this was a short term effect or if there was some specific trigger.


    Deciding it wasn''t worth worrying about for a minute Kyle went to the entrance and remotely ordered the door to open. Standing in the doorway were 18 people, standing head and shoulder above everyone else was Randall and next to him was a slightly hunched over brother with Nettie standing between them so they looked like bodyguards protecting her. The others were people from the blacksmith workshop Kyle visited before and 3 young women who appeared to be apprentices of Nettie.


    "Hello Kyle we received our orders at first light this morning and rushed straight over."


    Nettie spoke with a gentle smile, the craftsmen here always get up before dawn so they can prepare what they need and organise the days orders.


    "Welcome to my mansion. You are all welcome here, what orders did my father give you?"


    "We were only told to report to you and that only you can issue us orders from now on. It was a little vague but I''m assuming you''ll fill us in."


    Randall responded and Kyle knew his father didn''t want to say too much were it may get to unfriendly ears. Nodding his head Kyle then asked.


    "Have you guys had breakfast yet?"


    "Nah not yet we got the summons before we could and didn''t want to leave the boss hanging."


    Randall responded with his usual tone and got a back fist to the jewels from Nettie for his trouble. Well this answered the question of why his brother was hunched over. Indicating they should follow him. Kyle led the way through the mansion pointing out various rooms and facilities they were passing. Everyone was surprised as they knew this was among the oldest buildings on the estate but it appeared to be one of the, if not the most comfortable with every need and want just around the corner.


    "Alright now we''ve got more people I''ll need to start assigning rooms for you to stay in. Don''t worry there are more than enough rooms for all of you to have one to yourselves."


    As Kyle was giving the tour Kyle said this which made everyone happy and they raised a cheer. When they were in the craftsmen''s area they had a bunkhouse which held 6 people with no privacy. They could save up to buy a house but the nearest houses were far out of their price ranges and it was too much hassle to travel every day.


    As they approached the kitchen they saw a sleepy Clara heading through the door. Thinking that Ash and Lauren were probably already in there Kyle let his troop into the room. The Kitchen was as large as the dining hall in the main compound with a semi wall separating the food preparation area from the eating area. Lauren was already at the stoves looking through the equipment while Ash was leaning on a work surface near her with a cup of tea or coffee in his hand.


    "Yo boss."


    Ash lazily waved at Kyle. He didn''t mind this as Kyle wanted his people to feel comfortable when they weren''t on duty.


    "His Ash, do you want to introduce us?"


    "Oh right this is my wife Lauren and the little chipmunk in the pantry is my daughter Clara."


    Looking around Lauren smiled and gave a curtsy which Kyle responded to with a nod before looking to the left and he saw Clara coming out of the cold store with various food articles for breakfast.


    "Well Lauren, Clara you know Ash is here and what the situation is now the question is do you want to work here as well. You don''t need to worry whatever you choose you can still stay with Ash."


    "Sir if I may I would like to work for you so I can stay with my husband but what about Clara?"


    "You don''t need to worry about that, if she so desires she can train as a maid with Miranda and can also train with the rest of us. By the way everyone here will also be doing basic training with us. I don''t want anyone here to be vulnerable."


    Hearing this everyone was happy although Clara was a little huffy as her future was decided without her opinion but she was also happy she could stay with her family. Once everyone had introduced themselves, they all got stuck in and began to get breakfast on. Lauren and Iris hit it off straight away and were directing everyone like a pair of generals. As if on cue Bruno choose this time to arrive while being out of breath.


    "What''s going on?"


    Bruno was looking around with a dazed look on his face due to their suddenly being so many people in the previously empty mansion. Feeling a clap on his shoulder a voice sounded in his ear.


    "Time to get to work boy."

 33 Chapter 33 Ive got a bad feeling about this

    "Time to get to work boy."


    Looking back over his shoulder Bruno saw Ash had him in a vice like grip. Gulping Bruno just nodded his head and went to Kyle to receive his orders. Trying to get Bruno to help was shall we say a domestic disaster, Kyle also found out why Ash and Clara weren''t helping with the cooking either. It is now agreed that regardless of the need Ash, Bruno and Clara should never be given free rein in a kitchen. There was fire, rage and anger when they tried to assist but once they were relegated to fetching and carrying the preparation proceeded and a fast rate.


    Once everything was ready and everyone was sat at the large table breakfast could begin. Kyle''s people were happy and surprised when Kyle helped them prepare breakfast and sat to eat with them with no airs or graces and had a laugh and a joke while they were working. Kyle had lived alone in his last life so he had years of experience preparing his own foods. It wasn''t to the level of a trained chef but it was more than enough for this world which had a lower level of personal comfort.


    Breakfast was an enjoyable time with everyone getting to know each other, no one spoke about why they were transferred with so much secrecy and with such speed as they had already begun to take their lead from Kyle.


    Once everyone had finished eating Kyle stood up and knocked on the table to get everyone''s attention.


    "Alright everyone I know you''re confused as to what is happening and why you''re here so I''m going to lay it out for you folks. Firstly the reason you were transferred to me under such tight constraints was because we have a traitor in the family."


    When Kyle dropped this bombshell everyone started to whisper amongst themselves as kin slaying was one of the worst sins that people could commit while being a traitor was next in line. Everyone began speculating as to who it could be, most people had already condemned Kyle''s oldest uncle Harris as the traitor while some were throwing around the names of various elders within the family.


    "Enough! The reason this hasn''t been announced and the traitor apprehended is because although there is irrefutable proof of the traitor we can''t identify them yet but they could get close to my family."


    "Excuse me but if you don''t know who it is then how do you know there is a traitor?"


    One of Nettie''s apprentices spoke up and asked a very poignant question which impressed Kyle as while the rest were throwing around accusations she had thought her way through what he was saying.


    "Well you''re a smart one aren''t you? Simply put I was poisoned as a baby, this wasn''t a standard poison as it blocked my cultivation progress so at best I would be weak and at worst I would die. The only people who would be able to get unrestricted access are certain people of power within the family."


    With this no one spoke up as they were looking at Kyle in shock, if what he said was true the family would be greatly weakened when the time for a new family head came up with infighting and alliances with outside influences tipping the balance.


    "Don''t worry I managed to break the poison a few days ago but that was the start of our current understanding. Due to not knowing who to trust I''ve begun to form my own guard and bring in people I feel I can trust. Ash will be my chief of guards, Iris and Lauren will split the duty of housekeeper and cooks but I will expect everyone to help while I''m looking for more help for them, Liam will be assisting Ash for now while also working as a hunting instructor."


    Hearing this breakdown of duties everyone understood who the household staffs were but they didn''t know why they were present. Seeing their unrest Kyle smiled gently at them before continuing.


    "As for you guys you''re going to be working with me in producing armour and armaments for our people. We will also be selling some of these items within the city to get some needed funds."


    Hearing this everyone understood why they were here. Kyle was intending to be self funding while strengthening his people so he could be fully outside of his families controls which would allow him to operate more covertly.


    "Bruno I know you got here late but what was the word from your folks."


    Bruno was surprised at suddenly being called out coughed into a drink he was just bringing to his mouth making everyone laugh.


    "What it''s not funny."


    Bruno said while wiping his mouth with a towel.


    "My folks are happy for me to stay here while we''re training but they want me to go home to see them as much as I can."


    Thinking for a moment Kyle had an idea.


    "That''s okay but can you persuade them to come here for 2 hours in the morning so they can join in with our training. This goes for everyone else here, starting today we''ll all be training together in the mornings. You will all be training in a new cultivation manual and learning fighting arts different from anything you''ve been taught before."


    On hearing this no one was unhappy, quite the opposite in fact. Cultivation gives a longer life span and a better quality of life. If they were training in a higher quality cultivation they could live a happier and healthier life.


    "I don''t think my folks would have a problem with that, I''ll speak to them a bit later."


    "Also Bruno your parents own an affiliated arms shop if memory serves. When they get a chance could they come and see me as I would like to sell our products through them. I''d rather deal with people I trust rather than reach out to someone unknown."


    Bruno nodded to this as this would also be beneficial to his parents business as he''d seen the quality of the sword Kyle had produced.


    "Okay everyone let''s clear up, then we''ll do a round of cultivation before we start doing some basic training. Ash when we''ve done our training I''m going to need you to get your contacts together and see if you can organise about 50 men like we spoke about yesterday."


    "No problem boss do you have any specifics? Some of the guys were injured which was why they retired."


    "No specifics but if you can get as wide an array of the injured as possible. This technique has certain healing properties so while we''re helping we may as well see how far this property goes. Also due to what is happening once these men have my technique they''ll have to be employed as our guards with a seal until we can settle this."


    "I don''t think it''ll be a problem as most of these guys have struggled to find work with the various injuries they sustained."


    "Excellent oh and I almost forgot did we have a prisoner delivered last night?"


    "What prisoner? I''m afraid no one came by last night, what happened?"


    "Nothing much except I was attacked by some would be assassins last night and they should have been delivered here so we could interrogate them ourselves. It looks like the enemy are already over stretching. Once we finish out training you go get your guys and I''ll go rattle some trees and see what falls out."


    Everyone laughed at this which helped to release the sombre mood which had settled on everyone during the last few minutes as no one wants to be a target. These were good and loyal people and just by preparing and sharing a meal with them they already considered each other friends and in a short while they would think of each other as family.


    Moving back to the kitchen everyone began tidying up while making small talk and getting to know each other better. None of the production staff was married or otherwise romantically involved which would prove to be helpful as there would be no reason for them to head out in the short term and it would give Kyle time to get everyone up to his desired spec.


    "Okay everyone let''s get a motor on we''ve got training to do."


    Once the clearing up was complete Kyle said this with a glint in his eye. Miranda and Bruno remembered the training they undertook yesterday and knew it was going to be more of the same today and just sighed. One of the blacksmith apprentices looked at his friend and said.


    "Why do I have a bad feeling."

 34 Chapter 34 Clothes maketh the man

    "Why do I have a bad feeling?"


    Following a 30 minute cultivation session during which Kyle directed them and also allowed their breakfasts to settle the entire household was subjected to a harrowing hour and a half of brutal training. During which the apprentice who had the bad feeling could feel killing intent surrounding him from all sides and much like when a gazelle can feel the lion approaching he prepared himself to move.


    Once the training session was over and everyone was released the apprentice ran for the hills while being chased by his peers and shouts could be heard all over the mansion.


    "You and your feelings!"


    "This is your fault!"


    "Every time you say it something bad happens!"


    "Come here I won''t hurt you this isn''t a club in my hands!"


    Hearing the last one everyone began laughing before Kyle spoke to them again.


    "Okay everyone well done, it looks like some still have some energy but for the rest of you take an hour rest and then start working. Randall will you and your brother clean up the shop in the basement and check what you''re going to need. When I get a chance I''ll form some arrays like what I did at your previous shop. Nettie can you get settled in and let me know what you''ll need. If you go to the third floor along the east side there are a few rooms that should be suitable for you to use as your workshop."


    Hearing Kyle''s instructions everyone relaxed on the ground and decided to begin cultivating as this helps recover stamina as well. The apprentices who were running around the mansion rejoined them after a few minutes and began cultivating as well.


    Kyle for his part looked at Bruno, Miranda and Ash and grinned at them which made them shudder. Ash had seen this smile before from his instructor when he''d joined the army and just swallowed as he had an idea what was coming.


    "Alright team now we''ve warmed up let''s get to the main course."


    When Kyle said this with a smile like the sun his team stood up while grumbling and began sparring. The rest of the household were shocked seeing this and felt a deeper admiration for their new master as he had been front and centre during the training session.


    Gradually everyone recovered and began to move under the jostling of Nettie and Randall leaving Kyle''s team to carry on training. Ash was impressed by the combat arts they were using and as a vet he could see the uses in what they were training. Kyle assigned Ash to Krav Maga like Bruno as this was the more aggressive of the styles he knew.


    While they were sparring all of them had also began to improve in their respective arts, this was due to their higher cognitive functions and better memories. It is unfortunate that nobody studied true martial arts because once they began to develop people in this world could progress in them far faster than in ours.


    While they were sparring Kyle used this opportunity to study their attack style and personality to get an idea for which weapons would suit them but decided to carry on as is for a while as they may change based on their training and he didn''t want to push them into one style of weapon or another.


    After another hour and a half all four of them were tired but Kyle pushed them to do some circuit training which pushed them to their limit and they followed this by cultivating.


    When they had finished this session Kyle approached Ash and said to him.


    "I''m just going to check your body''s condition so I can if there is any progress in your healing."


    Not worrying about it Ash just lay on the ground and let Kyle do whatever. Kyle had told everyone that he had awoken a sorcerer ability which let him see people''s cultivation which was an easy explanation for what he was doing.


    Inspecting Ash''s spiritual world Kyle could see further improvements in his mana system and considering this is only Ash''s second day this truly showed the capabilities of his new technique. Kyle nodded his head.


    "Looks as though you are healing up faster than I thought but we''ll check after each session to see how it''s going."


    "Thanks Kyle and if you need anything just ask."


    Even though Ash was Kyle''s slave he truly was thankful to Kyle as he was healing him and had reunited him with his family. Kyle didn''t worry about any of this as he liked Ash and wanted them to be more than master and servant he hoped they would be friends. While they were organising this Clara was approaching cautiously and when she was close she spoke up.


    "Excuse me my lord."


    "Hello Clara can I help you?"


    Kyle didn''t know why Clara had approached him but as the first of his new people to directly speak to him Kyle was curious as to what she wanted.


    "Well I saw you training with Miranda and I was wondering if I could train with you as well. I''m not good in the kitchen but I want to help however I can."


    Seeing Clara''s earnest desire to help Kyle knew that she wanted to help her father. Thinking for a moment Kyle made a decision.


    "Okay you can shadow Miranda. She will show you what you need to do and you''ll be training with us as of tomorrow. Miranda once you''re ready report to Lauren and Iris for your duties for the rest of the day. Bruno you go with Ash to get an idea of what the military men are like and Ash can you give him an Idea of military doctrine. Don''t go to in depth because we will be using small unit tactics and I know the empire fields full battalions supported by a few stronger individuals."


    When the empire armies are fielded they would usually use the common soldiers as fodder with lower cultivations to weaken and tire the enemy with a few strong mages or cultivators ready to destroy them once the opportunity arose. This meant the common soldiers would die in droves Kyle didn''t want to use these tactics and was thinking he would operate on smaller units but each soldier would have a stronger cultivation and combat base.


    Everyone nodded to Kyle''s instructions and began to tidy up before Kyle thought of something.


    "Oh Clara could you be a dear and ask Nettie and Randall for the names of their people so I can allocate rooms for everyone thank you."


    Clara was happy to be of help and with a quick nod of understanding sprinted of in the direction of the house which made Ash sigh.


    "Well at least she seems to be happy now but it seems as though this is the calm before the storm."


    Hearing what Ash said Bruno and Miranda silently agreed with him and wondered what was going to happen in the next while. Kyle looked at their thoughtful looks and just smiled.


    "I would say we are already in the storm and we just arrived at the eye so all we can do is prepare for the winds to come in again and fight against them."


    Everyone found this to be apt considering the current situation and squared their shoulders for what was to come.


    Once everyone had tidied up the equipment they''d used, they all took showers in their rooms to freshen up. When Kyle came out of the bathroom he looked at the bag Miranda had brought this morning and was feeling a bit depressed as he really disliked the clothes he had available at the moment. While he was bemoaning his current situation he heard a knock at the door and remembering Miranda''s reaction this morning took a bathrobe out of the bag before answering the door.


    Waiting outside of the door was a breathless Clara who had apparently been running around the mansion getting what he asked for.


    "My lord here is the list of the new members of the household and also Madam Nettie asked me to give you this."


    Clara passed Kyle a largish parcel. Kyle was wondering what this was and after thanking Clara and closing his door, took it to his bed and opened it. When he saw what the parcel contained he couldn''t help but say.


    "Thank you Nettie."


    The package contained the first set of his formal wear and a set of his day wear. Kyle hung up his formal wear in his wardrobe and changed into his new day wear. It fit him perfectly which just showed how it paid to have a good tailor.


    When he was changed Kyle was just deciding what he should do when the mansion let him know of someone approaching. Looks like the mansion is back on form, Kyle thought before heading down to the entrance. On the way Kyle asked the mansion to let in his visitor which the mansion did with no problem. Once Kyle arrived he was greeted with.


    "What are you wearing?"

 35 Chapter 35 Training mum

    "What are you wearing?"


    Looking to the source of the voice Kyle saw Maria his mum and Shauna her maid who had just come in through the open door. Kyle smiled at them at just responded.


    "These are the new clothes I had Nettie make, do you like them."


    Before he gave a little twirl and on seeing their expressions he began to laugh.


    "Well the style isn''t bad and it seems to be easy to move in."


    Shauna was looking at the clothes and gave her analytical opinion of them while his mother began checking them over.


    "Hum they certainly are a different style but as long as you like them its fine I suppose."


    His mother made her opinion known before she continued.


    "We''re here to start your lesson in array mastery, do you have anywhere we can work."


    She was looking around as she had never been to this mansion and found herself surprised by how it looked as she knew it was the oldest building in their estate so she was expecting it to at least have some wear and tear but it looked as if it was brand new.


    Kyle could guess what she was thinking from the way her eyes were travelling over everything, but he didn''t worry about this as he believed the mansion was built from stronger materials than were currently available and if you add in the strange mana crystal at the core with the ancient arrays a lack of damage is the least strange thing you could expect.


    "Follow me there are larger rooms on the third floor and we can use one of those as a training room."


    Kyle led the way while Maria and Shauna followed behind but their eyes never stopped moving around the mansion as they took in decor of the building and Maria began to wish that she owned this mansion but it was better it was in her son''s hands rather than anyone else''s.


    When they reached the third floor Kyle led them to a large room in the centre of the north side. This room had large windows which allowed a great deal of natural light as well as being the location of one of the ''shield'' arrays which were protecting the mansion. Kyle chose this spot so once he had finished working with his mother he would be able to show her the array and get her opinions on it.


    "Excellent Kyle we should be able to practice in this room without any problems. Now show me what you''ve learnt of the book I gave you so far."


    Maria thought she knew Kyle wouldn''t have been able to fully study the book she gave him as while Kyle may forget about it, his cognitive process was far higher than even other cultivators due to him having cleared all of his level 0 nodes in his brain and he has already started the process of clearing the level 1 nodes so his mind has undergone a radical change. He had already read and memorised the entire book of arrays in less than an hour so he began to use array protection to show his grasp of the basic arrays. He instantaneously produced five arrays which were floating stably in the air.


    When Maria saw this her eyes opened wide and her mouth began to open and close with no sound coming out. This was a high level technique that only some of the best masters could utilise, even her master had said it took her years to be able to do this and it was an indication that an array master had reached the current top level of their craft. Maria had been trying to use this technique for the last few years and while she had made progress she still felt she was a few years away from being able to create an array in this way let alone five at once.


    Once Kyle had finished producing and stabilising the arrays he looked towards his mother and saw her eyes bugging out and her mouth was moving, gradually he heard a quiet voice coming for her which appeared she wasn''t even aware of.


    "I can''t even do that."


    "I used to be called a genius."


    "Maybe I should quit being an array master and become a farmer."


    Hearing this Kyle looked towards Shauna who looked shocked but not to the level of his mother. Deciding to clarify what was going on he asked them both.


    "What''s the matter?"


    Shauna looked at Maria who still appeared to be suffering from a mental meltdown so answered for her.


    "This is a high level technique which only top level array masters can use. Your mother has been trying to use this technique but hasn''t been able to for the last few years."


    Understanding what the situation was Kyle looked at his mum before he had an idea.


    "Mum you know my special sight right, well I may be able to use that to help you. Can you try and produce an array through projection and I''ll see if I can help."


    Upon hearing Kyle Maria immediately perked up as this may be the guidance she needed in order to step into this realm of artistry and finally stand in front of her master with her head held high. Her master never demanded anything of her but Maria wouldn''t be able to rest easy until she had at least reached this new level and showed her progress.


    Maria nodded to Kyle and began to assemble a simple array in her spirit realm in order to project it once it was complete. She didn''t find it strange that her son would be the one to teach her rather than the other way around as while she was shocked and had a mini meltdown, this was offset but the burning pride she had in her son.


    Kyle dismissed the arrays he had produced before moving closer to his mother so she was in the range of his sight before he dove in to her spirit realm. Once he was in he saw what his mother was doing. She was producing the array for ''light'' as this was a simple array with a simple control ring and was usually the first array people learnt as there was very little that could go wrong.


    Maria had already completed the core glyph and had started generating the control ring. When the ring was around half complete it began to destabilise before finally collapsing allowing the mixed soul force and mana to dissipate.


    Coming out of his mother''s spirit realm, Kyle saw his mother was kneeling on the floor gulping in air. She looked a little pale and sweaty which made Kyle worry for her.


    "Mum are you okay?"


    "I''m fine the backlash from the loss of the array has just tired me out. I''ll be fine in about 10 minutes or so."


    Kyle and Shauna helped Maria to a couch in the room so she could rest more comfortably while they watched over her and waited for her to recover. After 10 minutes Maria had recovered and was raring to go again.


    "So Kyle what do you think?"


    Kyle thought back to her construction of the array and thought his way through how it ended.


    "Well you''ve got no problem with the amount of mana you''ve got instead it seems to be a lack of soul force which is preventing you from completing the array."


    When Maria heard this she was a little confused as Kyle had mentioned soul force before in relation to his new abilities but what did that have to do with the array. Seeing her confusion Kyle decided to clarify.


    "When you''re creating an array it isn''t just mana you use, you also use some soul force mixed in unknowingly but both are required. The constraints in using array projection are probably due to the higher demands on both your soul force and mana. Can you try and produce the same array again?"


    Maria didn''t even pause when Kyle said this and began to construct the same array again, as she thought Kyle probably had an idea as to how she could progress. Kyle dove straight back in and watched the process with a great deal of focus.


    Once Maria had finished the centre glyph she carried on with the control ring. Once again she only got so far and it began to destabilise again but this time Kyle used his own soul force to reinforce the array.


    "Mum pull back from the array and reabsorb the energy from it."


    Hearing what Kyle said Maria immediately complied and pulled back her mana which also pulled the soul force back which prevented her from suffering the rebound. Kyle was hoping that when she did this some of his soul force would be drawn back with it strengthening hers but it didn''t happen as they were still separate forces.


    "Okay let''s try again."


    Maria once again went through the process and the array began to destabilise when the control ring was produced, but Kyle could see the ring was more complete this time. It appeared that when Maria had successfully pulled back it allowed her soul force to increase, however this may be an outlier so Kyle repeated this process several more times and each time the ring was more complete. This wasn''t a massive increase but it was visible, this probably explained why it took others a long time to reach this level as after each attempt they would need to rest and after they did it for a long time they would have to take a break for a few days.


    "Okay mum I know how to train you."

 36 Chapter 36 The blue oyster

    "Okay mum I know how to train you."


    "Really that''s great dear can you tell me what I need to do."


    As soon as Maria heard Kyle would be able to train her she immediately became elated and there was no question in her mind as to whether Kyle would be successful. Kyle found this blind faith in him at once very comforting and also very worrying as what would happen if she had this same level of faith in untrustworthy people. Kyle didn''t know that Maria only had this level of faith in two people the first being her husband and the second was Kyle himself. She didn''t even have this level of trust in her master who had saved her from a forced marriage arranged by her family so she could choose her own husband.


    Maria had navigated this world''s aristocratic circle, where a simple comment or mannerism could be interpreted in any number of ways and lead to untoward effects that the person may not even be aware of. This is the nature of the nobility and anyone outside of your own family is a potential enemy, so Maria was cautious around others but let some of her guard down around those close to her and completely with her close family. This was how Maria dealt with the stress of living like this while others have different means of release whether that was drinking, fighting or gambling some vice or another to remove them from the stress.


    "Okay mum what you need to do is create the array in your spirit realm but before it collapses pull back so you avoid the backlash from failure. It''s pretty simple but you''ll be able to train longer and harder than others who keep on failing completely."


    "I''ll give it a go, by the by how many arrays can you produce simultaneously?"


    Maria was curious as to this point as Kyle could already produce as many arrays as her master at such a young age and she wanted to know what his limit was.


    "Well 5 is my limit at the moment, but this isn''t due to a lack of soul force. I''m the opposite from you I have plenty of soul force but not enough mana to sustain the arrays past 5 of them but due to my abundance of soul force I don''t suffer from a backlash I just get tired from mana drain."


    Maria accepted this as it made sense, before she started her training she asked Shauna to keep Kyle company while she tried to progress further. Kyle and Shauna moved away from Maria so they wouldn''t disturb his mother and sat on one of the couches on the opposite side of the room.


    "So Shauna we haven''t spoken for a while, how have you been any progress with your crush?"


    The last time Kyle had a friendly chat with Shauna was several years ago before he started focusing on his training blocking almost everything else out from his view, which lead to him losing contact with his friends and people who cared for him like what happened with Bruno.


    "Which crush? If you''re talking about that guardsman from a few years ago I lost interest in him almost straight away. Even though he looked cute he was boring as a brick and only knew how to pose and check his hair."


    When she said this Shauna got a look in her eye and then began laughing as she had remembered something.


    "Come on Shauna if you''re laughing like that you''ve got to share."


    Kyle hadn''t seen her laugh like that for a long time and he now really wanted to know what happened between her and the guardsman as it must have been a good story.


    "Well it was a week or two after we broke up, I found him sitting in one of the gardens with dead eyes and I thought something had happened. Even though we had broken up I didn''t dislike him so I went up and asked him what had happened."


    "Okay I''m on the hook what did he tell you."


    "Well he and another junior guardsman received a tip from the market about a bar that operates in the night with many suspicious men going in to conduct business that cannot be done in the open, so the following night they went to investigate it themselves."


    "Keep going."


    Kyle was wondering what happened in the bar was it kidnapping, drugs maybe murder for hire who knew.


    "I''m getting there, well they found the bar no problem and watched it from outside for a while. They saw many large men going in and these men looked like thugs so deciding enough time had gone by they approached and were allowed in by the bouncer. While he wouldn''t tell me exactly what happened in the bar afterwards he did say one thing to me ''they made me dance all night''. I found out afterwards the bar was how should I say, for men who prefer the company of other men."


    When Kyle heard this he had a strong sense of d¨¦j¨¤ vu and why was Shauna comfortable talking to a child about this.


    "Shauna just to check, what was this place called?"


    "I think it was something like blue reef, blue clam oh wait it was the blue oyster."


    Hearing this Kyle finally lost it and began laughing his socks off.


    "Hahahahahahahahhahahaa."


    Shauna was happy to see this as Kyle hadn''t laughed so freely since he was much younger and the weight of his position and his lack of progress was weighing him down. She saw herself as more of an older sister to him and she wouldn''t hesitate to help him even if it meant killing half the city as Kyle, Maria and Landon were the only people she thought of as family.


    "Oh god I feel sorry for that guy, what happened to him afterwards is he still a guard?"


    "No he quit and starting working as a waiter over there."


    This time Kyle really broke down, he laughed so much tears were coming out of the corners of his eyes and he couldn''t get his breath back. After stifling his laughter he looked at Shauna who was smiling at him and said.


    "Thanks Shauna I needed that."


    Kyle felt lighter after Shauna had made him laugh like that and he realised he would need to loosen up if he wanted to lead these people. He could delegate when he needed but he kept too much bottled up and this could lead to him being unable to associate and enjoy time with the people he was trying to protect.


    "Are you 2 finished?"


    Kyle and Shauna looked to Maria who had come out of her training and was looking at the both of them as if they were crazy.


    "Hi mum we were just talking. How was the training?"


    "Oh what were you talking about?"


    Shauna looked at Kyle before she told Maria the story but she didn''t understand the meaning as even though she was politically save and powerful in her own right, she was still sheltered and didn''t interact with the commoners much let alone those of a different orientation.


    "What''s funny sometimes I''m sure me prefer the company of other men."


    Kyle''s moth was twitching now as he saw his mother''s lack of understanding regarding this and instead decided to move on.


    "Don''t worry about this, how was the training?"


    "It was good I could feel the array was more complete than previously and if I carry on like this I will have no problem in producing a complete one before long. But I stopped when I became overly tired."


    "I think this is probably due to straining your soul force. It''s like weight training you don''t want to over burden your body instead do it gradually slowly increasing your strength."


    "That''s what I thought as well so I''ll carry on training tomorrow and see how it goes. Well it seems today''s lesson was a bit different but while I''m here do you have anything to ask me?"


    Maria looked hopefully towards Kyle as she intended to help him today and instead it was the other way around.


    "Well actually there was something I wanted to check with you."


    When Kyle said this he held out his hand and pulled up a ''remote'' array and made the ''shield'' array that was present in the room visible.


    "Mum can you have a look at this ''shield'' array and let me know what you think of it."


    Maria saw this array floating in the centre of the room and was surprised by it artistic workmanship. This was far more beautiful than any array she had seen before like comparing calligraphy to standard writing. She studied it for a minute before she responded to Kyle.


    "This is an old style array from the pre empire era but I''ve never seen a complete one before as every record that has been found was incomplete and what we use now are based on these incomplete notes. Can I copy this down I would like to discuss it with my master when I get a chance?"


    Kyle didn''t have a problem with this as amongst the arrays that are present in the mansion this was one of the closest to the arrays used currently. After Maria had copied down the array in a notebook they stopped for lunch before they returned to the main compound but not before Maria had said she and Landon would be joining him for breakfast tomorrow morning. After seeing them off Kyle moved to the training area as he decided to get in another cultivation session or two while he had a chance but before he got more than 2 steps he got an alert that there was a large number of people approaching.


    Kyle waited at the entrance and when the doors opened Kyle welcomed his visitors.


    "Welcome to my home."

 37 Chapter 37 The death watch

    "Welcome to my home."


    In front of Kyle stood precisely 50 men plus Ash who was leading them. The men were a mismatch of people with some carry carious injuries while some looked like they''d come from the slums. One thing they all had in common was a bearing that others didn''t have, it was a trust in the man next to them. Kyle associated this impression with them being with others who had gone through the same training and this immediately gave them a sense of companionship and belonging which they''d probably missed in their personal lives since leaving the military.


    "Good afternoon gentlemen, I''m assuming Ash has given you a rundown of why you''re here but let me restate it in my own words. I need guards and I''m willing to offer you gentlemen this opportunity to join me."


    At his words the candidates in front of him stood a little straighter as this was a good opportunity for them as they had struggled since they had returned to civilian life. Some of their friends and colleagues had been taken on as guards and escorts but for the most part these positions were taken by local thugs and gangs as they would do as told without questioning the morality while the large families would mostly draw from their outer family with only a few, like Ash having the opportunity to join.


    While most of them were digesting this information one of them raised his hand. Seeing this Kyle nodded in his direction indicating he could ask his questions.


    "Um well some of us are injured why are you willing to take us all in."


    When he said this it woke the others up and they became slightly suspicious. This was a very strange decision as an injured guard would be next to useless and looking around at the crowd a good number had injuries which would severely hamper their combat effectiveness. There was even one who had lost an arm and others who couldn''t use their arm or had damaged their legs.


    "That''s a good question but before I can answer this, those who are willing would have to have a servant seal placed on them. This is a seal of my own devising which is different than a slave seal. A slave seal prevents the holder from disobeying the owner while the servant seal will prevent them from divulging the secrets of their master. Who is willing to take this chance?"


    Suddenly hearing that they would have a seal placed upon them the crowd became nervous as they had only heard of the slave seal, this new one was outside of what they knew and hence they were scared of it. Finally one of the men with a bad limp came up and said.


    "No one else was willing to gimme a shot and Ash vouched for you so I''m in."


    When he said this the others thought of what they knew of Ash, he had a good reputation within their circle and in the city as a whole as he was a righteous man who stood up to the evils the Miles family had committed. Another of the men who was a good friend of Ash decided to ask something that was bugging him.


    "If you can use this seal why is Ash still a slave?"


    "Quite simple really, I can offer Ash more protection as my property than as a servant. If a servant is killed by a noble family as a free man they would be taken to court and the nobles could buy their way out but if a noble were to damage my property I could directly call them to task and demand a duel. If the noble were to refuse the duel their reputation would be sullied and they could even be taken to a noble''s tribunal which is incredibly difficult to manipulate."


    You''ve got to love this medieval mentality a slave has more worth than a freed man but it meant Ash would be able to go outside with a measure of protection. As the rest of the staff wouldn''t be going out regularly Kyle would be able to organise a protection detail to them once he''d trained these guys.


    Hearing Kyle''s reasoning they realised why he was doing things the way he was and realised Ash had made the right decision in serving this young man. Gradually the possible guards came forward and Kyle projected the servant seal upon them. This would prevent them from being able to tell others about the cultivation technique he was going to give them. Out of the 50 45 of them had the seal placed on them, the other 5 were still milling around.


    "What''s wrong guys don''t you trust me?"


    Seeing the men still there undecided Ash called out to them. On hearing his call they looked up and one of them men responded.


    "I trust you Ash but you know I have a family, if I join here I won''t be able to see them for a while and living in the slums I''m worried about them."


    The other 4 were in the same situation as they had wives and children and they couldn''t leave them alone for fear of what may happen. Ash and the others looked at them in sympathy as they knew they wanted the work but couldn''t bear to leave their families. Kyle just smiled and then spoke.


    "Well that may not be a problem. First question do your families have jobs or anything that would hold them in the slums?"


    "Ha no people from the slums can only get day work and are abused while doing it. We can only rely on the others who are in the same situation but the gangs cause problems for us as well."


    One of the men responded while the others nodded. This was the truth and shame of the slum, once you get in it''s almost impossible to get out of because they''ll always be someone willing to step on you to push you back down again. Kyle''s smile grew wider when he heard this, it may have been troublesome if there were more men with families but it looked like Ash had selected these men with this in mind.


    "Nothing simpler then currently we currently have a shortage of maids, footmen and grooms in my mansion as I''m training my people from the ground up so your families can join with my new household as well. They''ll need to take the seal as well because I won''t have time in the short term to meet with them."


    On hearing Kyle the remaining men could breathe a sigh of relief as they wanted to work and this was the best opportunity they''ve had and once they are trained they may be allowed to help in the slums as well. Kyle turned to Ash and asked him.


    "Ash can you get the details from these gents and collect their families so they can be at ease, thank you."


    Ash nodded his head and got the details from the 5 and then headed out without forgetting to grab his helmet as it wasn''t worth getting seen at the moment and causing problems. Once Ash had jogged away Kyle completed placing the seal on the remaining guards.


    "Okay gents I can now tell you the reason for the secrecy and security. I have developed a completely new cultivation technique. It is still in development but even in the nascent form it is still more powerful than anything I have yet to see. This technique will theoretically allow you to wield all three paths warrior, mage and sorcerer. Also while I was training Ash I found that the techniques that you were training in while you were in the army damaged your bodies and limited your potential. Before you go on a rampage I can''t tell if this was intentional or accidental as cultivation is still a largely unknown factor."


    On hearing what Kyle was telling them they were at first shocked that a child could be this smart but then became angry when they heard that their reward for their loyalty was to be injured by using the techniques they were given. Once Kyle finished he could see a myriad of emotions on their faces and couldn''t help but pity them and upon using his empathy he could feel the same emotion from all and that was betrayal, they had been betrayed by those they served.


    "Don''t worry gents the technique that I developed was originally created to heal me. I was poisoned by someone and I used this to cure the poison and breakthrough so I should be able to heal at least some of your injuries and regardless of success or failure I give you my vow that you will be part of this household for the faith you''ve already shown me."


    Hearing Kyle they all became elated and decided then and there they would do whatever they could for this young man who had saved them from the abyss. No one knew but this was the core of a group who would give up their lives for Kyle and all they demanded in return was the lives of as many of his enemies as possible.

 38 Chapter 38 Kyle the miracle

    Kyle continued his speech. He had an idea for how he wanted his people to act and this was the perfect time to give them the run down.


    "Before we continue I''m going to lay down some ground rules for how I expect my people to operate and as you will be my main force this applies to you. There is to be no ****, if I find any of you have committed such an act I''ll kill you myself. If you have been falsely accused I will defend you with my dying breath but don''t lie to me as I can use my abilities to tell and if you do something to a kid no men or gods will ever be able to put you back together. AM I UNDERSTOOD."


    Kyle shouted the last part, this wouldn''t be intimidating from a child but he''d coupled this shout with his soul force which made it feel as if this was a command from a god to these guards. These were good men and these sins weren''t in their personality in the first place but with Kyle''s pressure it was pushed deep into their psyche and even the thought became abhorrent to them at this point.


    "We are now a family as such we don''t leave our own behind whether that is a guard, soldier, cook or cleaner we look after our own this includes your families you are all brothers. Next is pride, you can take pride in your actions and in each other but never let this become arrogance. Don''t look down on an enemy as the one you look down on will be your undoing. Finally try to avoid civilian casualties as much as possible, I know sometimes accidents happen but try to minimise collateral damage as much as possible. Any questions?"


    Once Kyle had finished his monologue he waited for any of the men to ask questions but nobody did as these were simple commands to understand even if some situations would make them difficult to follow. The men gained an understanding of Kyle''s mentality from these commands and they hoped they could feel the pride he spoke of while doing their duties. Seeing that no one had any questions Kyle moved on.


    "Okay if there are no questions let''s begin, we''ll start with the new cultivation method. If you can follow me to the central training area we can begin."


    Walking to the training zone Kyle stood in the centre waiting for the guards to arrange themselves. He didn''t give them any instructions on how they should sit as he wanted to see what they did. The men arrange themselves so they sat around him so they were all facing towards him while allowing around 2 meters clearance around each other. This was how they were trained to sit while they were in the army and were going to be shown skills or techniques by their instructors.


    Seeing that everyone had got comfortable and were looking at him with expectation and hope on their faces Kyle took a calming breath before he began to speak to them.


    "My cultivation technique is different in that at certain points in your bodies you will loop the mana. The reason for this is that there are multiple channels leading from your main mana flow which are connected to nodes. These nodes need to be cleared to give you greater strength and this is also connected to the healing properties I spoke of. The reason your previous techniques were damaging your bodies was due to the energy being forced out of these channels or flowing in the wrong way. While you are training this technique I will be moving amongst you to check the level of damage in your bodies and issue any needed corrections. I can do this due to me having a sorcerer ability which allows me to see your spirit realm. Any questions?"


    Once again Kyle asked them if they had any questions, the men were a little confused as this was knowledge far beyond anything they had heard of before but as it wasn''t their concern they choose not to worry about it and just wanted to start their new training. Seeing their eagerness Kyle imparted the first level of his training as he''d decided it would be better for them to clear their first nodes as quickly as possible in the hopes of repairing the damage that was already caused to them.


    Once the men had been told the technique they immediately began their training while Kyle moved amongst them. There appeared to be a universal form of damage to the channels and nodes in their bodies caused by the technique they had been trained in which made their nodes ragged to one degree or another. Kyle found a few men who had managed to partially clear some of their nodes but these amounted to only 3 men and this may have been due to the differences in their physiques.


    Out of all these people Kyle was the most concerned with the injured. Coming to one of the men who had received a slash on his thigh from a poisonous demonic beast which caused the muscle to die, Kyle dove into his spirit realm to see what was going on inside.


    Kyle saw the expected damage had been done to the nodes but on inspecting the area which corresponded to his leg he could only see a desolate land where the mana couldn''t flow freely while a black miasma floated around. Inspecting this black material Kyle deduced this was the remnants of the poison from the beast which was slowly destroying the muscles.


    After watching for a few moments Kyle decided to try something. Adding his soul force to the man''s mana he began to push through this desolate land. The man could feel something happening within him which caused the area which had been poisoned to heat up. It wasn''t uncomfortable to start with but as the feeling of heat increased he began to feel a prickling sensation. This shocked him as ever since he had been injured he had lost the feeling in his leg. Coming out of his trance due to the pain he looked around and saw Kyle standing behind him with his hand stretched out and his eyes closed.


    As the pain and heat continued to increase the man couldn''t take it anymore and ripped to side of his trousers to see what was happening, thinking he could always sew them up again later. What he saw shocked him, under his amazed eyes he could see black blotches beginning to appear at the surface of his skin. Eventually these black blotches began to be pushed out of the pores in his skin and the man could smell a foul smell coming from this black fluid. This was of course the remnants of the poison and Kyle had used the man''s own mana to force it out of his system. Once the poison had been forced out Kyle inspected the area again, while it was still desolate the mana had begun to flow freely and greenery had already begun to appear around the course of the mana. Kyle took this to mean that the mana had already started to repair the damage previously done.


    Coming out of the man''s soul realm he was greeted by the man looking at him with awe and gratitude in equal measure in his gaze.


    "How are you feeling?"


    "I feel great, my leg aches and that is awesome it''s the first time since this happened I have been able to feel anything from it."


    The man was ecstatic as he could now move his leg again. It was still stiff and was still feeling hot but the pain was largely lessened.


    "Good to hear it you should use the showers over there and change into a training outfit. Make sure to wash the poison off fully, we don''t want it to seep back in okay."


    Kyle decided it would be best to ensure the poison was cleared off the man''s skin as soon as possible and he made a mental note to keep an eye on the injured in case there were any complications. The man moved off with a much lighter mood than he''d had in years while Kyle carried on with his rounds. The surrounding men who were aware of what just happened found themselves also in awe of Kyle as not even the top level alchemists would be able to cure this wound, not that they would demean themselves to help a low level soldier like them.


    Kyle moved on and after a few men who only had the basic damage he came upon one who made him exclaim.


    "What the hell have you done to yourself?!"

 39 Chapter 39 Dont over strain yourselves

    "What the hell have you done to yourself?!"


    When the other guards heard Kyle''s shout they all came out of their trances and looked for the source. The man that Kyle was stood in front of was a man called Dylan. This man was considered a hero amongst the enlisted men as he was closing in on Ash''s strength at that time and was only a level below him but while patrolling around the city he was situated in, his group were caught by a large number of beasts. The men weren''t strong enough to fight against this onslaught but Dylan stood in front and took the brunt of this assault. Luckily in this pack there was no beast with poison but in order to survive Dylan was forced to push his cultivation beyond his level and this ended up in crippling him but not before he saved his men.


    Kyle was looking at Dylan''s sprit realm and was dismayed at the level of damage present. When he pushed past the limit Dylan had broken all the nodes on his path leaving only the nodes in his brain intact. Kyle could see that Dylan''s main channel was still intact but any mana that he absorbed was pumped towards the nodes and when it hit the nodes it immediately dissipated. The damage was similar to what Kyle had seen before but far more advanced and for the first time he felt true pity for this man. He didn''t know why this man was this badly damaged but he would do whatever he could to help.


    "What is your name?"


    "My name is Dylan sir."


    "Okay Dylan can you tell me if you can sense any mana in your body and if you have any control over the flow?"


    Kyle wanted to know if Dylan could consciously control the flow of mana in his body or if it just sought the easiest exit from his body which would be the broken nodes.


    "Yes sir I can feel the mana flow but I can''t control it or gather it."


    On hearing this Kyle pondered as to what he could do to fix this problem. With mana a human can heal over time but as his body couldn''t contain any mana how could they fix this. Deciding to at least have an attempt Kyle decided to try using his soul force to plug the leaks and see if the mana present could seal the nodes it would be like using putty to seal a pipe he could only hope it took so the mana could seal the breach.


    "Dylan I need you to follow the technique and just keep operating it until I tell you to stop. The rest of you continue to train!"


    As Kyle was talking to Dylan he noticed the rest of the guards had stopped training and were watching what was happening and hoped that Kyle could help their friend. They had already begun to look up to Kyle as someone mysterious and almost godlike.


    Once Kyle saw the men begin training again he turned towards Dylan with an apprehensive look on his face.


    "Okay Dylan I won''t lie to you, in all the people I''ve inspected I have never seen damage like this and I don''t know if I can help you but I''m willing to try so start your training."


    On hearing Kyle''s words Dylan was a little depressed as he felt Kyle would be able to help him but he knew it was wrong to put all his faith in a child, so he just began to train as he was instructed while wondering how Kyle was raised to be so calm and caring at such a young age whilst being a noble who were known to be selfish and brutal.


    Once Kyle saw Dylan had begun training again Kyle mentally offered a prayer as he had seen the hope and faith in the men''s eyes and he didn''t want to disappoint or let them down so he focused and began his dive into the spirit realm again.


    Ignoring the blasted landscape around him Kyle watched the mana flow and was once again shocked by the loss. Even though Dylan''s mental nodes were intact the mana dissipated before it could reach them meaning if Kyle couldn''t fix this he would never be able to cultivate again.


    Kyle decided he should start from the beginning meaning he should first focus on the node in Dylan''s chest. If Kyle could fix this one node even if he couldn''t train the remaining level 0 nodes he may be able to bypass them and continue from the level 1 nodes.


    Checking the flow of mana into the node Kyle began to check the worst points where the mana was flowing out from. There were three main breaks with a couple of smaller tears but the loss was minimal from these so he started with the larger breaks. He first tried to use his soul force on the outside of the nodes to plug the holes but this ended in failure as when he blocked one another would have an increase in flow. Kyle thought on this before he tried to seal them from the inside. This prevented the mana escaping but it couldn''t do anything else and once it was sealed no new mana could pass through and once he left the spirit realm his seal would dissipate meaning nothing would change. He also tried merging his soul force with Dylan''s mana but he couldn''t prevent the mana escaping as it just went for the path of least resistance only being a little slower.


    While Dylan continued training Kyle contemplated on what he could do and just tried the only thing he had left which was the opposite of containing the mana within the node and that was to create a bubble around the node containing the mana inside and outside the node.


    To his surprise this netted almost immediate results. When the mana was contained around the node, it seemed to draw from this static mana pool. Kyle could see the breaches were healing at a visible rate. While they were a little thin they continued to thicken over time until they appeared to be only as damaged as the standard soldiers nodes.


    Kyle had succeeded so he immediately released his soul force allowing the mana to flow freely again. The mana split and flowed to Dylan''s legs where the next two nodes were located. To save time Kyle split his concentration between both nodes and created his soul force bubbles around both once again.


    This time there was no mistake or experimentation as he shielded these nodes and allowed them to heal properly. Kyle was astounded at how the human body could make use of the mana to heal itself and he wondered how far this healing went. Is it possible to utilise this information as a true healing technique which as far as Kyle was aware didn''t exist and if it did it must have been hoarded by the empire.


    After a suitable amount of time Kyle believed the nodes had healed enough to move on to the nodes in Dylan''s arms. Continuing with this momentum Kyle once again shielded the nodes and watched as they healed little by little until they were stable and could withstand the mana flow again. Releasing his soul force again Kyle continued to watch as the mana rejoined into a single flow and entered Dylan''s mental nodes.


    This bit was a little bit of a surprise as Dylan''s mental nodes drained the mana flow, this hadn''t happened before but Kyle assumed this was because of the loss of mana due to the damage and his other nodes were drawing in the mana to either repair or replenish themselves. This must mean that their bodies would draw mana to a certain extent without their knowledge. Kyle didn''t know what this loss of mana to the brain would mean but it couldn''t be a good thing as our bodies know what we need more than we ourselves do sometimes.


    Kyle inspected Dylan''s spirit system once again to make sure it was functioning in good condition and after a few moments Kyle couldn''t see any further problems and decided to return.


    While Kyle was fixing Dylan, he was in turn watching Kyle. Some gifted people could cultivate while being aware of what was happening around them. This was usually due to having survived through a number of ordeals. A few of the other guards and Ash could do this as well and when it was found you had this ability you would usually be stationed around those who were training as an alert system.


    While Kyle was healing Dylan he began to sweat even though he wasn''t aware of it because the level of soul force and the control needed was more profound than what he''s used previously and his body needed time to adapt but all Dylan could see was a child giving his all to help him. A few of the other guards some with the same ability as Dylan and some who pretended as they wanted to know what would happen were also watching.


    As Kyle came out of his focus he said to Dylan.


    "I think that''s it, focus and let me know if you can feel your mana again."


    Hearing Kyle Dylan focused on himself again and he could feel the mana flowing under his control once again. Standing with tears in his eyes Dylan said.


    "You''ve healed me I can be a cultivator again. Thank you thank you."


    In this world those who can fight and cultivate are held up a shining examples while those who can''t like Dylan and Kyle previously are derided and despised as parasites. Kyle didn''t think he''d done anything deserving of thanks so he tried to step forward but due to the strain on his body he stumbled and almost fell. Dylan with his once again functioning warrior physique caught him while the others who had heard what they had said stood up and rushed to their master''s side. Kyle just smiled at this reaction before saying.


    "Don''t worry guys I''m only a little tired."

 40 Chapter 40 Phantom limbs

    "Don''t worry guys I''m only a little tired."


    The men who had come closer had taken a defensive stance around Kyle as he fell and they had worry etched on their faces, but on hearing Kyle''s words they relaxed a bit and stepped back giving him room.


    Dylan helped Kyle stand up before stepping back and standing respectfully in front of him awaiting his orders. Kyle grinned seeing this before he spoke out again.


    "What are you guys waiting for, someone to fetch your slippers get cultivating."


    This made the men laugh and they spaced themselves out again and continued their cultivation. Dylan lingered for a moment and felt that Kyle reminded him of his instructor from boot camp which was weird as his instructor was a 50 year old vet who could make grown men cry while turning the air blue with incredibly inventive insults. Smiling while dismissing this weird thought he sat down and recommenced his cultivation while thanking his ancestors he found this place.


    Kyle sat down with his men and began cultivating, when he was healing Dylan he used mana to support his mental concentration through the third node in his mind but his mana reserve couldn''t maintain this use for a long time hence the strain and exhaustion he now felt. As he was cultivating he was pleased to note that while he had been directing his mana at this node it had also leached into the surrounding nodes and had begun clearing them.


    After a few cycles of cultivation Kyle''s mana reserves had returned and had even increased slightly with his first level mana channel expanding getting closer to his level 0 channel section. While Kyle had been inspecting the guards during their training session he had noticed that when they were using his technique to open up their level 0 nodes there was a strengthening effect on the subsequent nodes and channels so once they were able to progress to the next level they could use the associated improved mana. He didn''t want anyone to immediately jump to a higher level of the technique for fear it could hurt them.


    He''d given Bruno and Ash the higher level but realised now this was a mistake. Fortunately this was still a low enough level it didn''t adversely affect them so they could continue as is without having to step back. It seemed as though the saying in wuxia novels about having a stable foundation was true.


    Once Kyle was topped up and refreshed he stood and headed to the last man on his route. This man was the one he was truly worried about as he didn''t know how he could help him. This man had his arm severed at the elbow. Everyone else may have been hurt or injured but the bits were still there so they could be fixed but this man didn''t have anything to fix. As Kyle approached him he could see the man was training hard with an almost unnatural focus. Kyle thought of people like paralympians and those who had lost limbs but did things others with all their limbs couldn''t just to prove to themselves it was possible. Kyle felt this man believed he had something to prove so he was putting forth all his effort and will.


    Kyle approached and dove into his spirit realm to see what he could. As expected there was damage to his nodes and channels in line with what he had seen from the bad training techniques used by the others. This had already begun to be repaired by the new technique and Kyle could see this man was actually looping his mana several times within each node rather than once which made Kyle annoyed as he wanted them to do it once to prevent damaging the nodes by an uncontrolled expansion from too much mana being retained without giving them a chance to be healed by the effects of the technique. Kyle would give him a talking to once he was finished.


    The node clearance was progressing but once Kyle approached the location of the man''s lost arm he saw something new. After what he had seen previously Kyle was expecting maybe a blasted or damaged land or possibly just mist shrouding what was lost however Kyle instead saw a ghost image. The man''s mana was flowing out from the node in his shoulder and was creating this mirage, Kyle thought of this and began to compare it to something he had heard of before. Phantom limb syndrome is when people can still feel a lost limb this is a terrible feeling for the person and if you haven''t suffered from it you would struggle to even empathise with them as it is a completely foreign sense.


    Kyle was inspecting this ghostly landscape which was made in a much more metaphysical sense than anything else he had seen before it may even border on the paranormal. Kyle headed to the line between the landscape and the ghost land to see how they interacted. There was no interruption between the 2 it was one second land the next it was a mana construct. As Kyle was watching he saw something which made him question himself for a second before he began to observe closely. The mana at this connection was much denser than elsewhere and as he observed the mana began to turn into matter like the rest of the land. It looked like the ghost image was a blueprint and the mana flowing through was filling in this blueprint returning it to its true state.


    Kyle didn''t know how this would translate to reality, would the man''s arm re-grow or would he gain some kind of mana limb? Kyle hoped it was the first and he thought of something he had heard before, he couldn''t remember if it was a quote from a person, book or movie but they said ''injury is an aberration and the body tries to repair this aberration'' so Kyle hoped that this was what was happening with the support of mana.


    Kyle came out of the spirit realm and looked at the man''s arm. He couldn''t see any change but he decided he would keep an eye on him.


    "Wake up!"


    Kyle shouted to the man which brought him out of his trance. Once he saw Kyle was in front of him he scrambled to his feet and stood at attention.


    "Why aren''t you following my instructions? I said to loop the mana once at each location, did I stutter?"


    "No sir!"


    The man responded with fear as he didn''t want to be forced to leave but he also didn''t want to be left behind by his brothers because of his injury hence he pushed more than the rest.


    "You loop the mana once and only once to prevent an uncontrolled mana build up. I will only explain this once another time will mean punishment. DO YOU UNDERSTAND!"


    "Yes sir!"


    Kyle had to exert his authority as these men were older than him and if they didn''t take him seriously they may begin to act on their own thinking it was for his benefit but if he didn''t have control he may miss something important.


    "Good, you don''t need to worry. You are part of this family now and we stand as one no one will be left behind."


    During his conversation with this man the rest of the guards had come out of their trances either on their own or by being awoken by those near them. When they heard Kyle once again say that they were family and they had each other''s backs they felt that connection they had missed and as Kyle watched they began bowing to him. First it was the one armed man but the rest joined in after. It was surreal seeing so many grown men bowing 90 degrees to a child, Kyle was shocked seeing this and was also a little uncomfortable.


    "Look we bow to no one not to each other and certainly to no one else. If you salute use your fist and place it on your chest. If you didn''t know bowing like that is to expose your neck to those above you but none of us is above the other here."


    Kyle had heard the origin of bowing from eastern cultures which was later adopted to western cultures and he didn''t like it so he would abolish it here and now. Plus if a guard was bowing how could he see what was coming, it was ridiculous to him.


    "Well kid it looks like you''ve got some good guys."

 41 Chapter 41 Heading to the third floor

    "Well kid it looks like you''ve got some good guys."


    Kyle turned to the new arrival and saw it was Randall''s brother. He was stood there with his arms crossed watching these grown men giving a level of respect to this child which he had only seen soldiers give to hero''s in their eyes. Even his brother and Nettie seemed to give this kid respect which they wouldn''t even give to the patriarch. He couldn''t understand what was it about this child that drew these people to him?


    Kyle for his part was looking at the younger brother and was trying to get a beat on him. He seemed very similar to Randall but whereas Randall was a force of nature who followed his feelings and instincts perhaps more than he should his brother seemed to be more thoughtful and while not necessarily more intelligent he certainly seemed to be more forward thinking.


    "Good afternoon, we haven''t been formally introduced. I''m Kyle Powell, welcome to the household."


    "Good afternoon Lord Kyle, I''m Zak as you know I''m Randall''s brother and it''s my pleasure to make your acquaintance."


    While Zak''s greeting was more formal than Randall was capable of, Kyle could sense a mild mockery underneath. This may prove to be troublesome later but Kyle would keep an eye on this man until he knew whether he could trust him.


    "Why have you come to see me Zak?"


    "We''ve just finished checking what we need for the workshop so Randall sent me to requisition the goods, however he sent me to see you first to see if we need anything else."


    Kyle thought for a moment but didn''t need anything himself however before they started bringing in materials from outside Kyle wanted to fully explore the mansion including the secret areas. This included the sealed areas he found when he connected to the mansion. These may contain materials or information which may be advantageous to their further progress. Plus he wanted to take Zak along to try to get to know him before he decided what to do with him.


    "Before you requisition anything I need to fully check this mansion as I''ve found several sealed areas which may contain things we can use. You will accompany me in this so you can organise the collection of anything useable."


    "Yes sir."


    When Kyle heard Zak''s response he could feel the dissatisfaction in his voice. This wasn''t directly aimed to him and Kyle began to suspect this anger was due to him being moved along with his brother without his consent. Zak had been in Randall''s shadow since they were young and he''d never had the chance to shine in his own right. He had heard a second workshop supervisor was coming up in another area and he was planning on applying for that job to separate himself from his brother and make a name for himself but before he could his brother had pulled him into this child''s game. When he heard Kyle''s explanation of how he was poisoned and the situation they all now found themselves in he blamed his brother for this but ended up focusing his anger on Kyle as he an easier target, one being a noble and the other was he was the source of these effects. He couldn''t bring himself to truly hate his brother and this made him feel better without feeling guilty.


    Even if Kyle knew Zak''s thoughts he wouldn''t really care as there was nothing he could do to improve his opinion of him in the short term so instead he went for action.


    "Come on Scooby we''ve got some work to do now."


    With this Kyle headed off with a confused Zak following behind. The guards who were left behind just looked at each other before they continued cultivating.


    Kyle headed up to the third floor to start his clearance. He''d decided to work his way through floor by floor and inspecting each room. He didn''t need the map he drew up as he could access the details and anytime even without relying on his enhanced memory.


    As they headed towards the third floor Kyle started to speak to Zak.


    "So tell me Zak why did you choose blacksmithing?"


    This caught Zak by surprise as most people asked about his relationship with his brother or how good he was at blacksmithing not why he chose it. Zak thought for a minute but couldn''t come up with anything. Kyle paused when Zak was struggling to answer and just waited for him to think.


    "I didn''t really choose this career, my brother got involved in it and I kind of fell along with it."


    "Hum so if you don''t want to be a blacksmith do you have anything you''d prefer?"


    Kyle was curious as if Zak didn''t enjoy what he was doing he wouldn''t be as good at it as he could be. Kyle wanted his people to excel in whatever they did so if they didn''t like what they were doing he would try to find them something that would suit them better.


    Zak was thinking seriously now, this question had never occurred to him before. What did he want to do? Even though he didn''t want to be a smith he enjoyed the ambiance and being in the environment. His brother seemed to know he didn''t like the creation process itself so he instead tried to find him other things to occupy him. Thinking on this now with a new perspective he realised his brother was always trying to help in his blunt and quite frankly stupid way. This made Zak smile probably the most honest smile he''d had in years.


    "Well I''m not really into the whole manufacturing thing. Not to demean the others but it just can''t occupy my mind so I usually deal more with the organisational side of things. Planning orders, organising stock also making sure that we have enough staff you know things like that."


    When Kyle heard this he had an idea for the work Zak could do. As they began manufacturing things to sell in Bruno''s shop they would need to deal with logistics ensure the movement of raw material in and finished goods out, planning days or maybe weeks in advance and even ensuring there was enough food in the mansion. All of these would need to be organised and it would be best if it went through a single person who would have the authority to make deals on behalf of the mansion when Kyle was unavailable.


    "I think I have an idea for something which may suit you more Zak. I''m going to need an assistant who can deal with the logistics within the mansion as I''m going to be busy with other things and I need to ensure we get what we need while we are selling our goods. Do you think you would be interested in taking up a responsibility like that?"


    Kyle didn''t notice but the way he worded his proposition was a little different than he meant as he changed job to responsibility and he''d said this as a question rather than as an order or request. This meant Zak would decide this on his own and if he saw it as a responsibility rather than a job he would take it extremely seriously probably more seriously than Kyle himself would.


    Zak was thinking on this and it sounded perfect, but it was a big change and he didn''t want to jump into this without having time to think through this. Kyle could see his indecision as this was moving away from his brother and regardless of how much he wanted to step out from Randall''s shadow he still didn''t want to hurt him by suddenly distancing himself from him.


    "It''s okay Zak you don''t have to decide right now, this will be a big change so think about it and what you want to do. We have time as we won''t be moving anything for a little while anyway."


    "Thank you."


    It was a simple thank you from Zak but there was none of the previous mockery or hostility. It was amazing but this simple exchange had erased any bad feeling from Zak and he was now thankful he had been dragged along as he could see a new door opening for him. There was still however one question still on his mind.


    "Who''s Scooby anyway?"

 42 Chapter 42 Nothing good

    "Who''s Scooby anyway?"


    "Don''t worry about it, come on I want to have a look at these sealed areas before it gets too late."


    Kyle dismissed Zak''s question and pushed onwards as he was now raring to have a look at these hidden zones within the mansion. When he found out about them he wondered how they had been missed for so long as they took up a rather large amount of the mansions floor area. It was probably close to a third of the overall space within the building.


    Looking closer at the ''illusion'' array Kyle had noticed that within the array there was a suggestion not to notice the anything strange about the layout. This wasn''t a direct command as that would have made it much more noticeable for example if someone was walking down a hall but suddenly forgot about walking down the hall, someone would have noticed long ago in that case. Instead the suggestion made people not care about the strange blank areas which were hidden by the array. Kyle had to admit this was very smart as no one questioned it so no one looked into it. As it was only a suggestion it wouldn''t work on someone who knew the true layout and was actively searching for those specific areas.


    Once they reached the third floor Kyle led the way to a blank wall just next to the staircase. Zak looked at this blank wall but couldn''t see any difference from the rest of the walls in the mansion so he looked at Kyle with a raised eyebrow leaving his question unasked. Kyle seeing Zak''s look just smirked before speaking.


    "Now for my next trick look nothing up my sleeves but hey presto."


    With a flourish and a little bit of childish anticipation Kyle smacked his hand against the apparently solid wall. An array appeared immediately and began to spin. Kyle pushed his mana into the array and aligned the control ring like a combination lock on a safe before the wall dissolved into a mist which dissipated. This was the form mana took when it was compressed into a semi solid form like these illusion. It wouldn''t make much of an illusion if someone could just accidentally trip and fall through the illusion.


    Zak''s mouth was hanging open on seeing what Kyle had just done. He had no idea something like this was possible, he had even heard it when Kyle smacked the wall. How much had been missed in this mansion and more importantly what would they find.


    "Excuse me Lord Kyle but who created this secret area?"


    Zak wanted to know who had created this as he didn''t know of anyone capable of something like this, he didn''t think even the lady of the house could do something like this and she was amongst the best array masters in the city.


    "Well this is an ancient array system, the records show we have been using the current array system for at least 1000 years but it could be much older than that or someone could have found old records and used them but I think it is more likely to be the former."


    Hearing Kyle''s response Zak couldn''t wrap his mind around the idea of something being hidden for so long plus the mansion didn''t look that old. He knew it was the oldest building in the estate but it wasn''t like the other ruins around which showed erosion and other damage. Zak didn''t know and Kyle wasn''t ready to tell everyone about the mansion being able to heal itself to a degree which precluded such damage. So in theory the mansion may be even tens of thousands of years old with no one knowing.


    Kyle walked through the newly opened doorway leaving behind a shell shocked Zak behind and looked around the newly opened area. The room wasn''t to large but it was around 4m x 4m, it appeared to be some kind of small armoury as there were weapons and armour on stands and on racks fixed to the walls.


    Zak finally came out of his stupor and looked in the room. Seeing what was inside he began to inspect the various articles, there were of course great swords but there were also glaives, axes and warhammers but unusually there were also things like bows and other lighter weapons, Kyle even thought he saw something which looked suspiciously like a machete.


    It appeared the ancient people weren''t as prejudiced with their weapon choices. The armour was a combination of full plate while there were also lighter scale armours present as well. Kyle and Zak looked at these different things and noted the materials used in their construction. They were made using the same materials that were currently in use without any different alloys like the one Kyle had created so it could be said the basis for their current understanding was based on the same knowledge as these people had.


    Zak was noting down the amounts of weapons and armour present so they could move them somewhere more accessible but Kyle stopped him.


    "Don''t worry about it Zak we won''t be keeping them like this. We''ll melt them down and re-forge them into what we need."


    Hearing Kyle, Zak stopped what he was doing and cast one last look over the things in the room. Everything here appeared to be functional, there were no decorations instead these appeared to have been mass produced in a hurry so the soldiers who would be stationed here would be ready to fight.


    Kyle led the way and headed to his next destination. This was a much larger room located at the centre of the south side of the building. Kyle ignored a couple of smaller areas as from the sizes he guessed these were other storerooms but this big room must be something different.


    On reaching the location he was aiming for Kyle touched the wall without any theatrics and unlocked the room. When the array was dispelled Kyle and Zak could see a double door with an arched top. Kyle thought this door was different than most he had seen and it reminded him of a church door. This room also contained one of the ''shield'' arrays covering the mansion but he didn''t know if this was coincidence or if it was located here to protect this room.


    Entering through the door Kyle froze and Zak who was following gulped before saying what Kyle was thinking.


    "Damn."


    The room was enormous, it seemed even larger than it should be from Kyle''s view through the plan and he suspected there may have been some time lord involvement in its construction. Arranged around the walls were bookshelves, hundreds of them and strangely there was a second floor balcony which shouldn''t be possible as the only thing above them was the roof.


    Looking around the first floor Kyle could see a few study tables located at the windows facing out towards the rest of the estate. In the centre of the first floor was a large golden or brass apparatus. In the centre of this machine was a blue sphere about 1.5m in diameter which was floating in the centre of the equipment without touching any of the surroundings.


    "Zak don''t touch anything."


    "Okay sir but what is this thing? Also how is there a second floor?"


    Hearing Zak''s questions Kyle could only be honest and say.


    "I have no idea, I really wasn''t expecting something like this."


    Walking around the apparatus Kyle saw some stairs leading up to the balcony so he headed to these as he wanted to get an overview of this chamber. Looking around the balcony Kyle found more work stations but unlike the area below the tables here were littered with various devices in different degrees of assembly or disassembly he couldn''t tell which it was.


    Zak who was following behind saw this and found this was similar to an array masters workshop as they usually had various projects going on at the same time when they were creating formations as they would usually concentrate on one type of array in a sitting as it helped them focus rather than chopping and changing which may cause them to make a mistake.


    "Sir this looks like an array workshop."


    When Kyle heard Zak''s opinion he found this was probably correct as he could see various etching tools and when he approached one of the devices he could see some partially finished arrays on it.


    "I think you''re right Zak but look all the array''s are in the old form."


    Zak couldn''t tell the difference as he never studied arrays so he just took Kyle''s word for it. Kyle looked around to see if he could see anything else which would give an indication of who had used this area and spied a smaller notebook on the side of one of the desks. Picking it up Kyle opened it and saw it was a journal or diary of some kind. The language used was slightly different than how it was written now so he could only make out some of the context. Kyle wanted to know why it appeared as though the place had been abandoned in such a rushed manor so he looked to the last entry which was written in rushed strokes and read something like.


    ''They''ve breached the front, we''ll be leaving soon good luck to whoever finds this.''


    Zak saw Kyle''s expression and asked with curiosity.


    "Have you found anything interesting?"


    "Nothing good."

 43 Chapter 43 The mysterious mansion

    "Nothing good."


    Hearing Kyle''s response Zak quirked an eyebrow wondering what made Kyle respond in such a way. Waiting on Kyle Zak looked around to see if there was anything else which may be helpful and moved over to one of the small bookcases located on the balcony.


    There weren''t anywhere near as many books as there were on the lower floor but they still numbered over a hundred. Zak began to flick through the book to see what was contained and drew a blank as what was written in the books may look similar in style to how things are written now but there was enough difference that he struggled to read it.


    Kyle was thinking about the last comment in the journal and found it worrying. What could be powerful or numerous enough to force the original architects of this mansion to flee while taking into account that there were apparently more of these constructions even within his city not to mention in other cities within the empire.


    Seeing Zak looking blankly at one of the books Kyle decided not to worry about the past as he had time to look into it later and walked over to see what Zak was reading. Looking from the side Kyle could see the book was in an older dialect which contained certain commonalities with the written systems in use but had extra strokes to some letters and others which were completely foreign.


    "Sorry Zak can I have a quick look at that book."


    Hearing Kyle next to him Zak turned to him and passed over the book as he didn''t even know where to start. Kyle began to flip through the book looking for something which would give him a base to see if he could work out what the book was relating to and about halfway through he found what he was looking for.


    This page had a diagram with some written words indicating certain movements or actions. The lucky thing was Kyle was familiar with the diagram and the actions as this was an altered form of the technique his mother trained in which allowed her to become a sorcerer. This was a cultivation manual for sorcerers so once Kyle knew what the book was about he looked further in looking for anything else that he could recognise.


    After a moment Kyle found a list or catalogue towards the back of the book which contained information on different kinds of sorcerer abilities like tamers and dream walkers.


    "What is it sir?"


    Zak wanted to know what this book contained as he had found it with his master and it piqued his interest.


    "It is a sorcerer cultivation manual which is similar to what my mother uses."


    As he said this Kyle realised how slim the chances were that he found a manual so similar to the one his mother practised when even among the current empire there were several competing techniques. To check this Kyle pulled another random book from the shelf and flicked through to the same page as in the previous book. It was another technique. For a moment Kyle thought it was exactly the same but when comparing them together he found there was a slight difference in the mana usage. Looking towards the back where the catalogue was located he found the abilities listed there were different and seemed to be more related to the sixth sense like clairvoyance and remote viewing.


    "These are different techniques but both for sorcerers. Zak go to the other side of the balcony and bring me 3 different books."


    Zak didn''t say anything and just jogged over and grabbed books from different cases while Kyle did the same on his side. When comparing them Kyle found they all contained slightly different techniques which seemed to push people towards one ability or another when practised. This was great as Kyle would be able to compare techniques and see which nodes leant themselves to one thing or another.


    "Okay we''ve spent enough time here we should move on but let me have a look at the first floor and see if there''s anything else."


    When they went back to the first floor again Kyle looked at the apparatus and really wanted to mess around with it and find out what it did but he also knew this would be universally stupid in a world with magic so instead he focused on the books. Coming to one of the cases he took down a mid-sized red covered book.


    When Kyle opened the book he found this was different than the books on the second floor as these contained tightly written notes. He didn''t have time to read through this so he looked around until he found a book that had been left on one of the desks. When he opened this book he found it was in the same format as the books upstairs but rather than having a sorcerer technique this contained a mage technique.


    "This book contains a mages cultivation technique instead. I''ll need to have a proper search but this appears to be a cultivation library. I wonder how many different techniques the ancients had access to?"


    When Kyle said what he believed this library was Zak''s eyes lit up as when he had kids his master may let them train in one of these techniques. Not the best one of course but a good one at least.


    Kyle saw Zak daydreaming and remembering how people in this world viewed strength and those with that strength he got an idea what Zak was thinking. Kyle just shook his head before he spoke to Zak.


    "Zak all these techniques are only useful as reference. The technique you are training in now is stronger and won''t limit you to one path. I''m just happy I can use the reference here to create or improve skills."


    Hearing Kyle, Zak was at first incredulous but then he remembered just how weird this kid was and he was already fully invested in helping him. It was only a flight of fancy but hearing what Kyle said about his technique Zak decided he would tie himself to this prodigy for good or ill.


    "Master I would like to take you up on your job offer would you accept my pledge."


    Zak kneeled to Kyle even though now their heads were at an equal height. Personal honour is a big thing to these people and to give someone your pledge means that your life is theirs to do with as they will. Kyle was aware of the gravity of this pledge although he didn''t know how he got this man''s undying loyalty he didn''t want to demean the man''s intentions so he just accepted.


    "Very well Zak you are my first vassal, I appoint you as my personal administrator and accept your pledge."


    This all sounded rather comical but they were now considered inseparable. Deciding enough time had been lost Kyle headed out while Zak followed behind. They carried on through the third floor opening various store rooms which contained various materials, weapons and other unknown objects. There were two discoveries on the third floor which made Kyle happy. The first was a storeroom containing a selection of metal ingots waiting for use and the second was two elevators one in the east wing and the other in the west. These elevators were run using, yep you guessed it arrays. This meant the movement of weapons, foods and other things would be much easier.


    When Kyle experimented with the elevators they made Randall jump out of his skin when they appeared in the forges at the basement level. Randall however got over this quickly when he saw these pieces of technology as this meant they could more easily move what they were producing.


    Continuing with the momentum they had Kyle and Zak continued exploring. It was much the same on the second floor with storerooms being the majority but there were some other rooms and when Kyle looked through them quickly they reminded him of laboratories. Kyle told Zak that these areas needed to be designated as off limits as he didn''t know if there was anything dangerous present in there. As Kyle gave this command the mansion once again showed that intelligence which made Kyle think more and more that it may be an AI or at least intelligent as the doors all closed and locked while the storerooms were left open.


    Choosing not to worry about it Kyle carried on with a jumpy Zak who seemed to think a ghost was the culprit and would be coming after him at any moment. The best result on the second floor was when Kyle checked the area next to the room he''d taken for his bedroom. This area appeared to be a study or office but it was much larger than the one he''d been using on the first floor and it was connected to his bedroom and the view was much nicer.


    "Zak you can have the office I was using downstairs as I''ll be moving into this room."


    When Zak heard this he nodded but he was a little envious as this was a very nice room. The furniture in here was different than the rest of the mansion and Kyle believed this was due to it being from the original architects. He hadn''t noticed how the furniture in the library was made as it was all just functional so there wasn''t much to say about it.


    Carrying on they cleared the first floor and rather than storerooms the majority of the locked areas contained training areas of one type or another. Kyle recognised what some of the arrays in these room represented such as a pressure room which could apply pressure or remove pressure rather than gravity which would only make you heavier, pressure would be applied to all regions of your body from every direction. There also appeared to be a sparring area which had multiple protection arrays to prevent people getting hurt. This sparring area actually opened out with large doors to the inner courtyard and when the ''illusion'' array was disabled it gave the guards a horrendous shock.


    They also found a cold storage attached to the kitchens. Why this was disguised Kyle couldn''t even hazard a guess but it was good for them as this new storage would allow the kitchens to keep foods for much longer and it was a great deal larger than the existing pantry.


    In the first basement level they opened the areas and just found ore storage. It looked as though ores were stored down here ready for use and once they were melted to ingots they were stored in other areas. Possibly the architects would turn the ores to ingots then move the ingots back to begin manufacturing.


    Once the basement was cleared Kyle was raring to check the next floor as even the staircase was hidden. An entire floor cut off and even the elevators didn''t go down there although this may have been because they were still locked. Disabling the array Kyle and Zak began to head down while many of the surrounding people began craning their necks to see what was happening.


    As they had been moving through the mansion many people heard what was happening and being nosy began to look into the new areas themselves. Walking down the staircase the lights began to brighten letting Kyle see where he was going. Different than may be expected the walls in this new area were no different than elsewhere in the mansion and there wasn''t a speck of dust to be found.


    Turning a corner at the base of the staircase Kyle view came to rest on the raised pedestal in the middle of the room, even though he knew it was there he couldn''t see it or what was above it. Instead what he saw was a cylinder of bluish light coming down from above totally covering the area. On the floor he could see raised black stone unlike what the rest of the mansion was made from which had etched glowing characters on it. These characters appeared to be glyphs but they appeared different somehow, if he was to say his first impression these looked alien while the glyphs even if you couldn''t understand them had a sense of familiarity to them. This was strange and he couldn''t even guess what this was for but his gut was telling him it was somehow related to the apparatus in the library.


    Deciding it would be best to see if he could find anything about this in the library Kyle accessed the mansion and was pleased to find a disabled ''protection'' array which could surround this area. Kyle activated the array which created a square surrounding the light and the black stones.


    Continuing on they accessed the final floor this was a bit of a surprise in a day of surprises. Kyle already knew this area was much larger than the mansion above but he didn''t know what it was for. Just past the staircase leading down there was for want of a better word a shed. Looking inside there were various gardening supplies. Past this there was a lean to which housed three alchemist cauldrons and the necessary tools. The rest of this area was taken up by a field. No suspense no bells or whistles it was just a large empty field. This must be an area for growing food and herbs with the alchemy equipment this was the most likely use. So basement 1 was for forging and basement 3 was for alchemy or food production both sub levels were meant to sustain the mansion above so what was basement 2 for?


    Deciding it was too late to worry about this at the moment Kyle gave another check and found the elevators were present on this floor so they stopped at B1 and B3 but not B2 what was that floor about??


    Going back to the entranceway Kyle was greeted by Ash and the families of the guards, there were 5 women and 6 children. Kyle turned to Zak and gave his instructions.


    "Zak take them to the guards and let them discuss the situation. If they wish to be employed the ladies should go to Lauren and Iris in the kitchen to receive some duties. I''m afraid the children will need to stay with them for the moment until we can get everything settled down."


    "Don''t worry sir I''ll see to it."


    With this Zak headed off with the families in tow who were looking around with great curiosity. Finally Kyle turned to Ash.


    "Okay Ash now that that''s out of the way we need to go see a man."


    "What about?"


    Ash asked with a sense of trepidation on seeing the smirk on Kyle''s face.


    "I seem to be missing one assassin maid."

 44 Chapter 44 I couldnt resis

    "I seem to be missing one assassin maid."


    Ash looked at Kyle and remembering what he''d told him about the attack earlier put 2 and 2 together.


    "I take it this is from the attack last night."


    "Yes he''s had enough time to relax now so let''s head over to the station. Get suited up and we''ll head out. We''ll stop on the way to see Isaiah to get a sit rep."


    Ash was confused what sit rep meant but decided not to worry about it as he was sure he would find the meaning later, instead he went and took a great sword from one of the new armoury''s before donning his helmet once again, he was already wearing armour so he was ready to go. Kyle didn''t bother with armour and he hadn''t taken his sword from his side at all.


    Heading out they at first headed towards the main compound to see Isaiah as he would usually be somewhere near Landon.


    "So Ash tell me what do you think of our little community so far?"


    Kyle was curious as to how Ash felt being part of his household, as Ash was the guard captain Kyle wanted him to have a sense of belonging which would increase his loyalty beyond it just being a place to survive and protect his wife and daughter.


    "Well everyone seems to be happy and loyal so far, but I have to ask why did you only place the seal on the guards why not on everyone?"


    "Quite simple really the guards will have unlimited access to my technique as it develops and they strengthen they will be able to access the higher levels. Currently those working as servants will have access to the first level of this technique but if they wish for the higher levels they would need to have the seal placed on them. This isn''t some form of control or punishment, we are currently too weak and I can''t risk someone else getting stronger with our means. Do you understand?"


    Ash thought of Kyle''s words and realised the truth in them, why would you arm your enemies and the weaker members were currently an easy target. Ash nodded to Kyle indicating his understanding letting them continue on in their own thoughts.


    Eventually they reached the main compound and headed for the reception room. Landon could usually be found there at this time of day. As they approached they could hear raised voices although they were muffled by the closed doors.


    Kyle approached the door and after seeing the guards waiting at attention weren''t going to block him or Ash, Kyle entered the chamber. There was a square table in the centre of the room with multiple elders sat around it. Currently two elders were having a standing shouting match at each other.


    "HOW CAN WE NOT RESPOND, OUR HEAD''S SON WAS ATTACKED!"


    "YES HE WAS BUT WE CAN''T BLINDLY STRIKE OUT, THE MILES FAMILY IS ONLY SLIGHTLY WEAKER THAN US WE CAN''T RISK ATTACKING THEM."


    Kyle got the gist of what was happening. They were talking about the response to the attack on him and whether they should just attack the Miles family as a serious suspect or wait for more information.


    On seeing Kyle enter many elders looked at him with different expressions, some were pleased to see him while others were annoyed by his presence. It was obvious which elders supported his father and him while he couldn''t tell if the others were annoyed by him or his age.


    Landon on seeing Kyle leaned forward in his ornate seat and looked at him with his hands clasped under his chin.


    "Hello father I was hoping to speak to steward Isaiah."


    Hearing Kyle and the fact he specifically spoke Isaiah''s new title Landon smiled, it looked as though his son would help prop up Isaiah and his new authority when needed.


    "Kyle you are aware of what we are discussing. As the victim of the attack do you have any opinion as to how we should proceed?"


    On hearing Landon''s question most of the elders sneered, even if they were loyal they couldn''t help but look down on Kyle due to his age and didn''t think he would have anything productive to say.


    Kyle thought for a moment and remembered some of the books he had read previously and took a page from Machiavelli.


    "Rather than directly confronting them we should issue a statement and let the staff know about the attack and who we suspect. Give them the idea that we have solid evidence without giving details. Let them stew for a week then we put pressure on their interests located in our sphere of influence. Push them to respond in a small and easily controlled way while we still look altruistic to the general populace."


    Landon and the elders were surprised by this as they had limited themselves to either a direct confrontation of martial might or taking a wait and see approach. These would both have pros and cons one showing them as being overly aggressive which may lead to others in the city rallying against them or appearing too weak to defend. Kyle''s suggestion gave them the option of responding without appearing to be the aggressor.


    "Excellent Kyle this is by far the best idea I''ve heard so far, who do you think would be best to spread these rumours?"


    Landon had someone in mind but as Kyle now had the momentum and the attention of the elders he chose to let him take the lead to give him some prestige.


    "Of course it can only be steward Isaiah, I wouldn''t trust anybody else to be able to spread this information in the correct way. If we sell the information to hard no one will believe it and if don''t expose enough no one will care."


    Once again Kyle was pushing Isaiah to the front and showed faith in the old man as he was completely loyal and was above reproach. On remembering his past service and intelligence the other elders voted that they should follow this course and Landon called in Isaiah to confirm he knew what to do.


    "Old friend do you have any questions about what is required?"


    "Of course not master I will have the information in the general conscious before the end of the week."


    Isaiah responded with confidence as he could easily spread this information through the commoner staff who came in from the city daily all it would take would be a few overheard conversations. It has to be said Isaiah was an excellent aide to Landon.


    "Very well Kyle also wanted to speak to you so you are dismissed."


    After Landon released them Kyle and Isaiah headed out with Ash following. He hadn''t spoken in the meeting as it wasn''t his place but he was impressed by Kyle''s political acumen.


    "Well Kyle what can I do for you."


    Once they were away from prying eyes Isaiah dropped some of the formality he had and instead spoke to him in a grandfatherly way.


    "Well gramps I want to see that guard captain from last night. The maid and her men weren''t delivered so it''s time to rattle some cages. Would you like to come along, it could be interesting."


    "Of course I would love to see you work."


    So the trio carried onto the guards barracks to see the soon to be screwed guard captain. In the barracks there are captains who command units of usually 8 men with a major commanding several captains, so when they arrived Isaiah went up and asked one of the nearby guards were the major was that was in charge of said captain. If a superior officer was with them it may offset some trouble with the other guards and those that the captain commanded.


    After receiving the directions from the guard Isaiah led the way while Kyle looked around to see how things operated here. Seeing Kyle looking around Isaiah decided to give him some details.


    "Kyle you should be careful while we are doing this as not all of these guards are from our family. Some of these men were hired from the army and others from subordinate families. They may stand against us if they are not made fully aware of the situation."


    Kyle was aware of how the guards were hired hence why he brought Ash along, but he didn''t think there would be a problem as even the guards who were there last night didn''t seem to be involved in the attack.


    Reaching the dorm of the major Isaiah knocked on the door and after speaking quietly to the major he lead them to a larger dorm a few doors down. When he arrived the major opened the door with a bang making everyone jump and when they saw who was there they all scrambled to stand at attention in the centre of the room.


    "Captain A''hole why wasn''t the prisoner delivered as ordered last night!"


    Kyle froze when he heard this did he just call him A-hole?


    "Wait wait did you just say the captain''s family name was A-hole?"


    Kyle questioned the major with a red face as he was trying not to laugh.


    "Yes sir this is my family dorm he''s my cousin."


    "So you''re major A-hole?"


    "Yes sir."


    The major responded while being confused with Kyle''s questions. Why was he questioning his name? Kyle looked at the rest of the guards and couldn''t resist.


    "Just how many A-holes do we have here?"


    "SIR!"


    With a resounding shout all the guards present stepped forward.


    "I knew it I''m surrounded by A-holes."

 45 Chapter 45 Getting late

    "I knew it I''m surrounded by A-holes."


    Anyone, anyone at all? Well there you go Kyle the funniest thing you''re ever going to say and you got nothing. Feeling a little depressed Kyle looked out of the window and allowed Isaiah to proceed.


    "Good afternoon captain, you may remember me from last night. I have been dispatched by Lord Powell with his son and guard to enquire as to where the prisoners have been placed as they haven''t been delivered as ordered."


    Hearing Isaiah the major looked at the captain in anger while the junior guards looked confused and worried. The captain however looked arrogantly at Isaiah and responded.


    "The prisoners were brought to the guard barracks as I hadn''t received orders from anyone with the authority to command me otherwise."


    Hearing this Kyle came back to himself and looked at the captain like he was an idiot and decided he needed to show the authority that was accorded to him as the heir of the family. He didn''t want to use this card as he preferred to have his own authority won by his own hand but by saying it in the way he did it was obvious this captain looked down on Landon.


    "Captain it seems you are unaware of the laws within the family, have you not been through the induction when you were brought in as a guard or when you ascended to be a captain?"


    "Of course I know the laws within the family and far more so than you kid."


    By now the junior guards were looking at their captain like he was an idiot while the major had a visible vein pulsing at his temple, he was furious with his idiot cousin how could he speak to the heir of the family who was doted on by his parents like he was some beggar.


    Ash for his part was resting his hand on his sword hilt preparing for any strange movements. He had finally found someone worth serving and he would be damned if he let anyone hurt him through his negligence. He couldn''t do anything about the previous attacks Kyle had suffered but he did feel bad even for the poisoning though he wasn''t even there to prevent it.


    Kyle smiled at the captain as he had given him all he needed to have the man clapped in irons without even mentioning disobeying his orders with regards to the attackers.


    "Well captain it seems you must have missed the lessons about the hierarchy of the family. As the heir to the family my orders can only be countermanded by my parents, even elders do not have the authority to rescind my orders. Also to be clear not receiving orders from my parents does not count as a defence for disobeying me. By the way captain you must also have missed the basics of the etiquette required when speaking to nobles as well. Even though we don''t abuse our authority like some we are to still be accorded a certain level of respect which you have not displayed, this was also witnessed by these people but you must be aware my word is enough as evidence."


    Finishing his teardown Kyle watched the captain for his response. The captain was beginning to sweat, he had a backing but within the family Kyle had more authority. He had also allowed this backing to go to his head and he had forgotten the rules when commoners deal with nobles. He was going to struggle to even keep his life let alone his position at this point. Looking for a way out of his predicament he looked to his cousin the major in charge and felt this would be his best option.


    "Cousin this kid is trying to frame me you have to help, think of my mother."


    "Don''t try to drag me down with you. You''ve broken the law and don''t even care about what problems you may cause the family, even your mother would disown you after this."


    The A''hole family had been vassals of the Powell''s for many years and could be considered one of their closest allies, if this cousin had soured this relationship he would be cast out if not outright killed to prevent the Powell''s from seeking vengeance.


    Seeing the major wasn''t going to step in on his behalf the captain turned to the men who were beside him. Seeing this as his last chance he shouted.


    "MEN PROTECT ME THEY ARE TRYING TO FRAME ME."


    The men just looked at him and then at each other before moving away from him just in case someone thought they were connected to this idiot. These men may have been related but the captain treated them as if they were servants rather than kin, he shouted abuse at them but when the major was around he was quite happy to kiss ass. He was a climber and he didn''t care how he got there or who he had to step on to get further. One of the men who was as far away as possible suddenly spoke out.


    "We won''t attack you as we are kin but we won''t help someone as corrupt as you."


    When he heard this the captain lost his temper and in a moment of rage targeted who he thought was the weakest here. That target was Kyle, in his blind anger he seemed to have forgotten how Kyle fought against his attackers. Drawing a dagger from a sheath at his back he lunged towards Kyle. Kyle was surprised to see someone using a dagger but he supposed some people carried them when they didn''t want to carry the large swords most people used.


    As the man came close to him Kyle stepped towards him and to the left. He caught his shirt and spun him sending him to the waiting Ash who slammed the hilt of his sword onto the back of the captains head sending him to night night land.


    Kyle looked at Ash and nodded to him. He had decided to let Ash decide how to deal with the captain as he wanted to see if Ash could pick up on his intentions. He wasn''t worried as he didn''t think any mastermind would give the captain anything useful so if Ash did kill him it wouldn''t be a loss. However Ash excelled in this little test and could read what Kyle was doing so he backed him up.


    The major and the rest of the guards were impressed. Even though the guards knew Kyle had some skill they hadn''t seen him fight and seeing how easily he dealt with their captain they felt a sense of respect growing within them. The major hadn''t even heard about what happened before so he was gobsmacked. ''Isn''t the young master supposed to be trash?'' This was what was on the major''s mind but now he had seen him in action it was radically different than he expected. He could only hope Kyle wouldn''t take his anger out on their family.


    "Okay now that''s dealt with can anyone let me know what happened to my attackers."


    Kyle asked and the major looked to the junior guards as he now knew what had occurred he hadn''t been informed beforehand. The same guard who spoke up before the fight spoke up again.


    "I''m sorry my lord they were found earlier dead, they appeared to have all committed suicide."


    Hearing this Kyle knew this was the captain''s doing as he would be tying up loose ends.


    "That''s okay, I believe the captain killed them as he was involved in the attempt. Have him chained to a wall in a cell. There must be 2 guards with him at all times I don''t want another suicide while you''re on watch. This must be kept between us so your direct superior will be the major and the guarding will be dealt with by this detachment alone."


    The major understood there was something untoward going on so he immediately nodded but then thought of a problem.


    "Sir while I can make this group guard him around the clock I need to manage other groups, they''ll need a captain to keep them in line."


    Kyle looked over the guards and he could see the junior guards would occasionally look toward the one who had spoke up. He was a little older than the rest and had probably been placed in this unit as a sergeant or aide to the captain.


    "That man there should be able to function as the captain in the short term. Remember unless it is me or my parents in person nobody else is allowed to have access to the prisoner."


    Hearing Kyle''s words the new captain gave a smart bow before he ordered his men to roll the previous captain in a sheet while the strongest of them would carry him over his shoulder. If anyone saw this it would at least prevent them from knowing who was being taken into the cell.


    "Ash we''d better get back it''s almost time for dinner."

 46 Chapter 46 Part of the family

    "Ash we''d better get back it''s almost time for dinner."


    When Ash heard Kyle he began to shake and looking out of the window he could tell by the sun it was getting close to that time.


    "My lord we''d better hurry back."


    Sensing Ash''s strange condition Kyle motioned for the guards to carry on while he led Isaiah and Ash out from the barracks. As they left the barracks Isaiah spoke up.


    "Well Kyle I''ll need to inform Lord Landon as to what has transpired. When do you wish to interrogate the prisoner?"


    Isaiah had decided to inform Landon about what was going on and also to warn him about possible corruption or collusion within the guards. If this was allowed to spread it would mean a loss of trust in the guards and may also invite trouble from outside. The guards of the Powell family didn''t just run security within the estate they also provided security in their sphere of influence so if they could be easily swayed this would prove to be disastrous.


    "I don''t believe there is any rush yet, if he could corrupt the others easily he should have started with his own men or his superior officer. We''ll schedule the interrogation for 3 days time, this should give him time to gnaw at his own panic, so it''ll be easier to break him then."


    Hearing Kyle Isaiah felt this was a good interpretation of the situation and allowing the former captain to stew was a good idea as his own imagination would cause him to exhaust himself. Isaiah then excused himself as he needed to report all of this to Landon and he also wished to tell him how well his son had handled everything.


    Kyle began walking to his mansion followed closely by a twitchy Ash. Deciding he''d had enough of this he spoke to Ash.


    "Ash what is wrong you aren''t acting in your usual manner?"


    "Well I promised my wife I would be back for dinner whatever happened and I don''t want to let her down."


    Ash said this while lowering his head, he truly wished to keep his promises to his family as he felt he owed them so much already and now they could be somewhat safe he didn''t want to let them down again.


    When Kyle heard this he was amused by Ash''s thoughts, this was a good man and he didn''t deserve the lot he had been dealt. Kyle carried on walking for a moment before he decided to ease Ash''s torment.


    "Well we don''t want to be late so let''s run."


    Saying this Kyle took off at a sprint leaving Ash eating his dust before Ash laughed aloud and chased this crazy kid. With the training they had begun even if it was only for a little while, it was already beginning to show some changes due to the immediate effect the mana had on their bodies. People around could see 2 figures moving at a ridiculous speed with the larger figure laughing aloud. People gave these strange beings space so Kyle and Ash ran through the estate unimpeded and shortly left the populated regions on the way to Kyle''s mansion.


    Once they were clear of the populace Kyle began to accelerate further while Ash tried to keep up. Kyle was enjoying this, he hadn''t had a chance to just run for the joy of it since he had come here and with his speed it let him feel free. He looked back and saw Ash struggling so he decided to wind him up a bit.


    "Hey old man it looks as though age is catching up with you."


    "Why you wait, I''ll catch you eventually."


    A red faced and puffing Ash was really struggling to keep up. How could a kid with such short legs be so damn fast? The victor was by now a foregone conclusion and when Ash arrived at the front door he found Kyle sitting on a step with a grin on his face.


    "Looks like I won old man."


    Kyle grinned at Ash before he headed in while Ash followed him while grumbling to himself. They walked towards the kitchen and as they approached they began to see the other members of the household. People were talking to each other while laughing and making introductions, this was facilitated by Nettie, Iris and Lauren who spoke to everyone freely making them all feel welcome.


    When Nettie saw Kyle heading towards them she greeted him with her usual calm smile.


    "Hello Lord Kyle welcome home."


    "Hello Nettie how was your day?"


    "Oh it''s been excellent thank you. Also thank you for helping Zak he''s been grumpy for ages this is the first time in a long time I''ve seen him smile like that."


    She looked over to a corner of the dinner table where Zak and Randall were huddled together talking before they both burst into laughter. Seeing Kyle followed her line of sight she continued.


    "He used to be like this all the time and he idolized his brother but something happened but now here we are. I do have to ask did he really pledge himself to you?"


    A few people nearby heard their conversation and were surprised when she said Zak had pledged his life to Kyle. They looked at Kyle and Zak with respect as the holder of this pledge must have something to them for someone to commit at this level while the one who pledged showed honour but if they broke this pledge they would be cursed wherever they went.


    "Yes he did, I''m not sure why but it would have stained his honour not to accept so even though I don''t think I''m worthy I will ensure his future prospects."


    This is how a pledge holder should act, the surrounding people believed this with their whole being and now they wanted to know how this would play out. Whoever that was something for the future, for now it was time to eat drink and relax. Kyle clapped his hands to get everyone''s attention.


    "Okay everyone it''s been a hell of a first day so everyone will help however they can in making dinner and then you are released for the night. We''ll organise guard patrols as of tomorrow and plan out duties and schedules but for today we''ll relax."


    Hearing what Kyle said everyone cheered and then got to work preparing dinner. People in this world didn''t really get time to relax as they usually worked from sunup to sundown and there were only a couple of national holidays and festivals which would give them a day off.


    As the food was being prepared people were chatting and Kyle grinned when he saw some of the younger blacksmiths and guards trying to chat up a few of the apprentice tailors. Nettie was also watching this with a glint in her eye, she was known as a matchmaker and seeing these youngsters she was raring to go.


    Once dinner was ready everyone sat at the table and began to help themselves to the food and drink. Kyle was sitting midway down the table between Bruno and Miranda whose parents were sat next to her in turn Ash was sat opposite with his family next to him. Nettie was sat further down the table with Randall and Zak. Everyone was laughing and just enjoying themselves.


    This was really just like a big family Kyle thought to himself and sighed while listening to the drone of conversation around him. Suddenly he knew someone was at the door and sensing who was there Kyle turned to Bruno and said to him.


    "Bruno your parents are here you''d better guide them here."


    Bruno didn''t think about it he just put down his utensils and jogged out of the hall to meet his folks. Clara seeing this felt curious as was her nature and asked.


    "Kyle how do you do that?"


    Hearing how she spoke to Kyle her mother began to reprimand her.


    "Clara remember its Lord Kyle."


    "Don''t worry about that Lauren when we are here we are family so just call me Kyle at the table. To answer you Clara, when I repaired the arrays in the mansion my mana connected me to them so when something is approaching the mansion tells me."


    Hearing his response those around them didn''t know what to think, but they just decided sorcerers and array masters are weird so no point worrying about it. Now someone had broken the ice and spoken to Kyle a few others began to speak to him.


    They were surprised by how approachable and calm he was and a sense of pressure a few who hadn''t interacted with him felt had now been lifted.


    "Oh I have a question why don''t you want us to breakthrough?"


    One of the younger guards had this in his mind since earlier. If you could breakthrough why wouldn''t you do this as soon as possible, the others who heard this were interested as well because this went against convention. Kyle put down his knife and fork before clasping his hands in front of him and he began to explain.


    "I have discovered several previously unknown things about cultivation, this can be shown from the new technique we are developing. There is however more to this, currently when we breakthrough this isn''t a clean progression and stifles your future prospects. Currently I''m waiting on another new cultivator to get enough mana to breakthrough so I can guide them in having a clear breakthrough. Once I can confirm it''s possible I''ll begin looking at ways of letting those at later level to clear their old breakthroughs. I know it''s possible because I''ve done it but I need to know if others can do it as well. Hopefully that answers your question."


    The man was thinking through this and found it was logical and he was more than happy with the fact Kyle was looking after his future as were the others at the table. Bruno and his parents had arrived when Kyle began explaining and they listened without wishing to interrupt. Once he had finished they came through and sat next to Bruno who began eating again immediately.


    "Aunt Kelly Uncle Mike welcome to my home."


    "Hello Kyle thank you for looking after our son."


    Bruno''s father greeted Kyle while his mother sat beside Bruno and began to fill plates for her husband and herself.


    "No problem and welcome to the family."

 47 Chapter 47 Clean up

    "No problem and welcome to the family."


    Dinner was a joyous affair. Kyle spoke to Bruno''s parents and they agreed to join the morning training, he also spoke to them about staying in the mansion as he would be able to give them protection, they however were afraid to leave their store alone for too long. Kyle however came up with a solution for this, once he had a chance he would install arrays within their store to give it protection when they were away. With his new portfolio of previously unknown arrays Kyle would be able to make the store one of the most secure buildings in the city. Once this had been sorted Bruno''s parents agreed to move over once the store was secured.


    Everyone else was having fun with some people singing and dancing while Randall and Zak got really drunk and spent almost 40 minutes toasting everyone including Kyle before they passed out and were handed to some of the blacksmith apprentices so they could carry them to bed.


    The older women in the house were gossiping and giggling together while the men were speaking about fights they had seen and how they hunted. The younger generation ended up sitting together and spoke about how things were going on their side. To his surprise and gratitude Miranda dragged him and Bruno over and included them in the group while Clara was already with them.


    Eventually the family began to disperse and everyone either went to do their own hobbies, cultivate or just sleep. Kyle returned to his room and cultivated for a while before he got ready for bed. Once he lay down in bed Kyle turned his soul sight to his body to check if there had been any further progress.


    Inspecting his flesh first Kyle could see his body was strengthening at a ridiculous pace. The infusion of mana was causing a controlled evolution to his bones and organs. His muscles and bones were denser than previously while what they were composed of was changing into something stronger but also lighter. His organs and veins were much stronger and more resilient but it was his heart which had the biggest change. It had grown in size a little but he could see the chambers were changing it looked like it would gain an extra few chambers probably to act as a backup if it was damaged and need time to heal.


    Diving further into his spirit realm Kyle was pleased by the progress he was making. His level 1 nodes had begun to clear and his channels were getting continuously expanded and reinforced. Retrieving his sight Kyle thought about what he should do tomorrow.


    He had queued up everyone for training and Zak had allocated rooms and resources to everyone. Kyle had to admit that placing Zak as his manager was probably the best decision he had made so far as it freed him up to continue experimenting and grow stronger without having to waste time on the little details.


    After morning training Kyle would upgrade the forge under the mansion with the new array plans he had and he would show the staff how to use them. Unfortunately they wouldn''t be able to produce the alloy he could or forge weapons like he did straight away and it would take some practice but thanks to the discovery of the resources within the mansion they would be able to practice without worry and with the arrays he was going to install there would be very little material loss when things were re-forged for another attempt.


    Secondly Kyle decided it was time he headed into the city and got himself registered with the array masters guild. As he could already use array projection he could immediately take the masters test without having to go through the tests for apprentice, adept and journeyman. This would mean he would have a say in the functioning of the local guild, further strengthening his position. He would also use this time to gather various seeds from the market to plant in the grounds at b3 as he knew there was a combination of arrays down there which he didn''t know all of their functions but he suspected they were used to accelerate the growth of plants down there.


    Finalising his plans Kyle let sleep take him. He slept without disturbance and was only awoken when sunlight streamed through the window and onto his face. Getting up Kyle hopped into the shower and after brushing his teeth got dressed and ready to meet a new day and the new challenges it would bring to him.


    On opening his door he was greeted by Miranda who was waiting for him. After greeting each other they headed down to the Kitchen to grab breakfast with everyone. When they arrived they were greeted by a small number of people who were already up which included Liam, Iris, Bruno, Ash, Lauren and Clara. The rest of the house began appearing shortly after and gave their morning greetings to everyone. Randall and Zak were amongst the last to arrive with Nettie following after, which was making a lot of noise behind them as they winced whenever something clattered.


    As they sat down Bruno''s parents arrived. Bruno had slept in the mansion but they had returned home after dinner. Kyle dismissed their apologies as he knew until they moved over it would be a struggle to get everywhere on time. As everyone was preparing to dig in Kyle told everyone to hold on for a minute while he looked to the entrance. After a minute four people arrived, at their arrival everyone except Kyle scrambled to their feet and bowed. The people who arrived where Shauna, Isaiah, Maria and Landon everyone had to show the respect due to the family head and they began to panic. Landon looked over everyone and was surprised when he saw Kyle sitting amongst his people as an equal. He and Maria headed over and sat on either side of Kyle while everyone else made room. Kyle could see Landon was nonplussed at the way everyone was acting as he had looked quickly before they entered the room and was happy to see the way everyone was acting at the table. Kyle decided to speak up to help everyone in particular his parents as he felt they needed to connect with some ordinary people.


    "Everyone calm down and sit, this is my house so remember my rules. Everyone at my table is equal so what happens here goes no further. Understood father, mother?"


    Hearing this Maria just nodded before digging in. Landon on seeing Maria''s actions could only smile as whatever happens she would move at her own pace. Landon turned to his son and spoke calmly.


    "Of course Kyle this is your home and we are guests so your rules are the ones we will follow."


    Hearing Landon everyone began to calm down and began to think like father like son but it was more Kyle was teaching his father and he was a willing student.


    "So father I''m assuming you didn''t just come for breakfast, so what do I owe the pleasure of your company."


    "You little brat why can''t a father just come and see his boy."


    Hearing Kyle speak to him like this Landon was first surprised because Kyle had always been quiet and serious so he wouldn''t make fun of him like this. Landon grabbed Kyle in a headlock and started messing with his hair.


    "Do you admit your faults, do you surrender."


    "I will never surrender to an old man like you."


    Maria scowled at the both of them while she had her cheeks full of food which when they saw her made them unable to stop laughing. The people around the table were looking at this domestic bliss with wide open mouths. Where was the aloof and commanding patriarch all they saw was a father playing with a messy haired son while the mother looked on. This diffused the previously tense atmosphere and everyone began eating and laughing together. Only a few people could must the courage to speak to Landon and Maria, these being those Kyle had brought on personally but with these leaders speaking it wouldn''t be long before everyone became friends.


    "Seriously dad why did you and mum come over today?"


    Once breakfast was almost over Kyle asked Landon why they truly come over. Landon turned serious and gave his reason.


    "We''ve come over because Maria and Shauna had told me about the new technique you''ve developed."


    "Well you can now train in it as I''m sure it won''t hurt a second stage now but if you''re training in it you must do it here, oh and if you''re training with us you must come for breakfast before. Isaiah, Shauna this includes both of you as well. This technique will help strengthen you as well."


    "Okay Kyle that''s reasonable, when do we start?"


    Landon was raring to go as he really wanted to see this technique in the flesh.


    "Well we start after you help cleaning up."

 48 Chapter 48 Arriving at the guild

    "Well we start after you help cleaning up."


    This was something new for Landon and Maria as they had always been nobles and had never had to do any domestic chores like this but under Kyle''s insistence they joined in being directed by Lauren and Iris who Kyle had officially appointed as the head housekeepers.


    Landon found that these domestic chores were quite calming for him as it took him away from the continual push to get stronger, Maria on the other hand was a disaster and like Ash and Bruno she was relegated to the table and told not to touch anything for fear she would hurt herself or someone else.


    Once they were ready everyone headed to the training grounds, Kyle had everyone start with a run to warm up. Landon thought this was simple but followed Kyle''s lead that gradually increased the speed forcing Landon to try and keep up. He lasted longer than the rest due to his higher cultivation but as he wasn''t allowed to actively use his mana he eventually tapped out, leaving Kyle as the undisputed champion.


    Once everyone was exhausted including Kyle they began to cultivate to regain stamina. As before Kyle was the first to recover so he began to check on the others. Even the new kids who had arrived yesterday became involved in the training so the whole household was present.


    As Kyle was checking on Miranda and Bruno he found she was further along in clearing her level 0 nodes than Bruno was. Kyle felt this was likely due to the fact Bruno had already cracked his first gate so there was always a constant loss of mana flowing through the gate so he had less to concentrate on the earlier nodes. This should mean Miranda would be the first person to breakthrough so she would be the one Kyle used to see if she could make a perfect breakthrough like him.


    The training continued with Landon and Kyle competing, this became a game and bonding experience to them and Kyle could feel the paternal care coming from Landon. On one of the breaks they were speaking about what had been happening.


    "You know Kyle you shouldn''t push yourself so hard, try having a little fun. The city is large so you should spend a little time out there and try to unwind.


    "I''m planning on visiting the city later today to register with the array masters guild, I was also going to have a look at some of the shops as well. But I have been thinking do we have any intelligence gathering going on in the city to let us know of internal threats?"


    Kyle had been thinking of this as he had only seen guards but he wasn''t aware of any spies or other agents their family employed to maintain their security and warn them of incoming troubles. Landon looked at Kyle with a slightly confused expression before he spoke.


    "Well we have the guards what else do you mean?"


    "Guards can''t check everything, do we have people who can investigate suspicions for us or who can search enemy territory without being discovered."


    When Landon heard what Kyle said he could immediately see the advantage in having something like this but it wasn''t something that was done as most would attack directly while attacks in the shadows like the poisoning of Kyle were considered dishonourable.


    "No we have nothing like this. Do you have any ideas?"


    Kyle thought for a moment before asking Ash who had been standing with them listening to their discussions.


    "Ash there must be gangs in the slums you know robbers, prostitutes and beggars. Are there any who are reasonable and defend the people?"


    "Sorry sir I don''t know much about the gangs just that all the nobles try to put them down if they find them."


    Hearing Ash, Kyle thought he had hit a wall until he could make contact somehow but before he dismissed this idea Dylan came up to them.


    "Sir I heard what you were speaking about and I think I know someone who could help. She manages the whores in the area of the slums nearest to your territory and her enforcers protect and keep order in her patch. She also has contacts with the beggars and thieves as they will avail themselves of her services."


    "Excellent Dylan when I go to the city I would like you to come along to introduce me to your contact is that okay?"


    "No problem sir."


    With a plan in place everyone continued their activities. Once training was over Kyle went to the forges and created the new arrays and explained their uses and limitations to the men present including a new ''separation'' array which would breakdown alloys to their constituent components minimising the waste while they practised.


    Kyle cleaned himself up once he was ready and headed out with Dylan as his guide and guard. They headed to the stables as the city was so large without any kind of transport it would take them hours to reach the central portion of the city where the guild branches were located.


    When they arrived they found there were three steeds waiting for them with Maria standing beside hers. Kyle was surprised to see her but realising she must have learnt he was going to the array guild it made sense.


    "Are you coming with me today mum?"


    "Yes dear plus I had some work to speak with over at the guild. I hope you don''t mind me coming along."


    Maria didn''t really ask and Kyle knew even if he said something she would still follow along so he chose not to worry about it and just checked the harness on his stead while Dylan was checking his.


    These steeds weren''t horses like what is present in our world. Rather they were demonic beasts called prism runners. They were four legged equine looking animals but they had scale like armour on their heads, necks and sides and their legs appeared to be coated in some kind of crystal. They had good strength and endurance but they weren''t capable of fighting without assistance. Kyle thought the name was due to their speed and also to the varying hues of their scales which changed as the light hit them. Once they had finished they headed out of the gate while being bowed to by the gate guards.


    As they rode along the city streets Kyle was impressed by the cleanliness of this area of the city. There was almost no visible rubbish or manure on the streets and the road they were on was a major throughway so it was as wide as an 8 lane motorway with a large pavement on either side for the pedestrian traffic.


    New grange city had four main territories which came under the sphere of influence of each of the four noble families. The Powell family had the largest and most profitable territory second was the Black family who had commercial ties with other cities and mostly dealt with trade, they also had a friendly relationship with the Powell''s. The third family was the Miles family who were suspected to have many illicit businesses and were involved in human trafficking. Finally was the Tor family who dealt mostly with the pleasure industry so they operated a lot of restaurants and casinos. The central area was controlled in conjunction between the imperial overseer and the three great guilds. While the array and blacksmith guilds fielded a full presence in the city the alchemist guild only had a branch here to help distribute pills and potions, they also provided services for those alchemists who had left the capital or who hadn''t accepted residence there in the first place. Kyle and his entourage''s first destination was the array guild so spurring their steeds they arrived as quickly as possible.


    Arriving at the central zone Kyle inspected the buildings. The imperial overseer''s mansion was in the centre and was surrounded on three sides by the guild buildings with the auction house taking the remaining side. Looking at this layout with the guild entrances facing the mansion and all of them being larger than the mansion including the branch of the alchemists, Kyle felt they were trying to intimidate or remind the imperial representative of their power and prestige.


    Tying up their steeds they approached the array masters guild and entered through the castle like entrance. The inside was large and well lit dismissing the outside impression of a dark castle with burning torches providing light. There were expensive carpets and painting improving the atmosphere and people were walking around discussing things quietly with each other. Looking for where he should go his mother took his arm and led him to a quiet desk where a man was sitting looking through some papers.


    "Hello Draken I have someone who would like to be tested as an array master."


    His mother took the lead and spoke to the man. He took his eyes away from the paper and looked at Maria before turning his attention to Kyle.


    "So you want to be an array master, sorry you''re too young."


    Hearing the man''s response Maria began giggling while a corner of Kyle''s mouth twitched.


    "Why don''t you try me old man."

 49 Chapter 49 Exam time

    "Why don''t you try me old man."


    This stranger had already irritated Kyle, he didn''t know his capabilities and had already dismissed him for being too young. Draken looked at Kyle for a moment before continuing.


    "That is your choice what level of examination do you wish to take apprentice, adept, journeyman, master or grandmaster."


    Draken continued in his bored voice while looking at Kyle with his heavily lidded eyes. Kyle didn''t know what the exams would entail as his mother had never spoken to him about this so he turned his questions to Draken.


    "What is needed to pass each of the exams?"


    "To pass as an apprentice you must correctly answer 100 written questions. If you are taking a higher level exam you must still pass the previous but the apprentice exam will only have 20 questions but they are much harder. As an adept you are required to complete 5 different cast arrays. The casts are provided for you, you only have to complete the array within. Journeymen must create a formation, we will provide the array papers and a requirement but you must decide on the best formation to get the result. A master is required to produce an array via projection while a grandmaster must produce 10 projected arrays simultaneously and sustain them for 30 minutes. Each level of exam costs 50 gold coins. Any questions?"


    Draken had completed his explanation with the same apathetic look on his face and was now waiting for Kyle to respond. Kyle thought for a moment but then decided why should I go low key I''ll aim for as high as I can go.


    "I''ll take the master level exam thank you."


    Hearing Kyle Draken quirked an eyebrow before continuing.


    "Very well, we require payment before proceeding. If you can deposit 200 gold coins we can begin."


    Miranda took a silverish looking card from her bag and passed it to Draken. This was a payment card which uses an array to store information of how much gold the holder has stored with the imperial overseer. It operates much like a debit card does in our world the only difference being there are no computers so the only copy of the information is in the card itself so if you lose it or it gets stolen you would be boned.


    Draken took the payment using a double sided stone with a formation above. Once the transfer was complete he led the way to the examination room. Miranda sat outside while she read a newsletter which was provided at the reception for array masters. Kyle entered the examination room followed by Draken.


    "I''ll be the adjudicator for your exam, if you have any questions ask them now before we begin."


    "I have no questions we can start right away."


    Hearing Kyle Draken turned to a cupboard behind him and selected a 20 page exam book with a red tag at the corner. This was the hard level booklet Kyle needed to complete in order to progress.


    Opening the first page Kyle saw a few questions. There were ones requiring him to check the array posited on the page and find the fault, others gave hypothetical situations and asked what arrays would be best suited. There were also a few theoretical questions with regards to formations and cast array provisions. Kyle rocketed through these questions as for him these were stupidly low level due to him having seen the much more complex arrays within the mana stone and creating the multi glyph arrays. Draken watched as Kyle answered one question after another with barely a pause while he nodded his head when he read the answers.


    Kyle finished the exam shortly and went to hand the sheet over to Draken who placed it in an envelope and sealed it with a red wax symbol.


    "Very well we shall move onto the next exam. Do you have any preference for the cast arrays you will use?"


    "No whatever is fine."


    Hearing Kyle Draken reached into the cupboard once again and pulled out 5 bronze preformed arrays and laid them on the table Kyle was using.


    "Complete these casts within an hour, you can begin."


    Draken stepped away so as not to disturb Kyle while he was working. Kyle began by looking at the first array and began tracing the array with his energy and with 3 minutes the array was complete and ready to use. Kyle continued with this pace and completed all 5 in less than 20 minutes. This feat earned him another nod from Draken who could see all the arrays were well formed and wouldn''t have any problems meaning Kyle had excellent control over his energy, probably more than someone his age should.


    "Well done we can move onto the next stage, to pass the journeyman exam you will need to plan a formation for a specific requirement. Do you have any particular areas you would like to focus on?"


    Draken asked this as there were many ways to use formations and not everyone excelled in all areas so some people specialised in things like domestic use or hunting. Kyle didn''t have any preference yet so he responded as such.


    "No I have no speciality so give me whatever you choose."


    Hearing Kyle''s response Draken thought for a moment before he seemed to decide on a particular scenario.


    "You will produce an array for a casino which will check those passing by for weapons. The indicator for this will be a red crystal which must glow when a weapon is detected."


    Kyle thought about how he could produce this array before he came up with an idea. The central glyph of the array was an ''inspection'' glyph similar to what his mansion used to tell him people were at the door. The control for this glyph wouldn''t scan the person but would instead scan their mind looking for intent to carry a weapon into the casino. If there was a sign placed next to the checker stating its use and the rules of no weapons allowed this thought would be front and centre in their minds allowing the formation to pick up on it. The rest of the formation was simple with a ''shield'' array to contain the person in question and a ''light'' array which would trigger when the ''inspection'' received a positive.


    Once Kyle was finished he passed his plan to Draken who inspected it. Kyle had also noted about the signage requirement so the formation would work optimally. Draken seeing this simple solution was impressed. He didn''t tell Kyle beforehand but this formation was a commission from the Tor family but none of the array masters could come up with a solution. Seeing what Kyle did Draken realised they had over complicated the issue while a simple solution gave them what was required.


    "Good this formation was actually a commission, we will test it and if it functions correctly you will be paid. Regardless due to your understanding of formations you may pass to the next exam. All you need to do is project an array which I can inspect. Any array will do so begin when you''re ready."


    Kyle didn''t think about it and created the first array which came to mind, this was his mother''s ''shock'' array. The projection was completed in a few second and Draken began inspecting it.


    "Hum the array is stable and complete but I don''t recognise it, can you deploy it so I can check its function."


    Kyle knew this array wasn''t in general use as his mother found it and tinkered with it to get it in its current state so Kyle deployed it in a sphere form so it wouldn''t cause any issues within the room. Draken came close to the sphere and before Kyle could warn him he poked it with his finger. There was a loud crack and a flash, when Kyle had blinked away the flash form his eyes he saw Draken still stood in front of his with his finger still pointing. His hair however had taken a turn and he now appeared to be sporting an impressive afro.


    *snort*


    Kyle could barely contain his laughter when suddenly the door was opened and Maria rushed in.


    "What happened I saw a flash and HAHAHAHHAHAHAHA what happened to you Draken did you see yourself in the mirror HAHAHAHHAHAHA."


    Kyle couldn''t contain it and began giggling while his mother was holding her stomach with tears in her eyes. Draken''s facial expression didn''t change as he pulled his hair back and tied it with some string he pulled from his pocket.


    "What array was that?"


    "That is a ''shock'' array my mother created. I''m planning on merging it with a deployable ''barrier'' creating a safer area for hunters."


    Draken on hearing what Kyle was planning felt this would be a good use for this array and assumed Kyle had found a means of creating a formation as he didn''t know about the multi glyph arrays.


    "Very well with this you have passed the master examination and I welcome you as an array master. If you will come with me I''ll get your credentials drawn up."


    As they were about to leave Miranda spoke up.


    "Draken can I take the master level exam?"


    "I don''t have a problem with it but you''ll need to pay once we get back."


    Maria nodded and began producing her array. This wasn''t the first time she tried to pass the exam using different arrays. This time she chose a simple ''light'' array as she could create this the fastest. As she was almost complete the array began to shake slightly. Kyle was standing there and was willing her to be able to complete the array as this was something she desperately wished for.


    Millimetre by millimetre the array was becoming more complete but it was shaking more and more but finally the array was complete and activated. Maria sighed and relaxed against the table while Kyle came over and congratulated her.


    "Well done mum you did it."


    Maria smiled at hearing Kyle''s words and caressed the top of his head before Draken spoke.


    "Oh this is your son Maria, pleased to meet you."


    As he said this Draken''s expression didn''t change in the slightest and Kyle felt this was just the way he looked. The three of them headed towards the reception to get Kyle''s qualification and to upgrade Maria''s. As they entered the reception Kyle was almost blinded by bling. A young man of around 15-16 years old was stood at the entrance wearing robes similar to what the upper levels in his family wore but these were coloured in red, orange, pink and gold while he was wearing many gold necklaces and bracelets. It was an assault on the senses and while Kyle was still in shock an arrogant voice sounded out.


    "I''m from the Miles family and I''m looking to take on some array masters who will work for me?"


    The young man spoke with a smirk and was obviously looking down on everyone present while Kyle could only lament to himself.


    "Clich¨¦ just so clich¨¦."

 50 Chapter 50 Peacock stew

    "Clich¨¦ just so clich¨¦."


    Kyle looked at this peacock as he mumbled out his inner thoughts, however it appeared chicken boy had good ears and although he couldn''t hear what Kyle said it drew his attention.


    "You there peasant, if you wish to be an array master you''ll need to train for longer. Instead how about you come to my family I know some elders who would like to meet you."


    A few people in the reception hall looked at Kyle with pity while the rest were confused as to why this kid was made such an offer. It looked as though the Miles family''s preferences were an open secret within certain circles.


    Kyle wondered however why this idiot called him a peasant but then he remembered he was wearing some of his newly made clothes which were very different than what the nobility wore. This meant this 15-16 year old kid hasn''t ever really looked at anyone he considers lesser than him and had no conception of what clothes they wear.


    While Kyle was musing he suddenly felt a dangerous spike of energy, looking beside him he saw his mother who was projecting a malevolent mana aimed at the peacock. Maria for all her faults was still a powerful mana user and this kid had just said he was going to give her son to some dirty old men. While she was still naive to certain things she could sense the implied threat in his words, now it would be questionable as to whether he would walk out or be carried out.


    Draken sensing Maria charging her mana decided enough was enough and hurried to the peacock. As the kid saw someone hurrying over to him he drew himself up to his full and intended to show this worker from the guild his power.


    "Ah good you there man take me to see your guild leader, it''s time you guild learnt it''s *bleugh*."


    While he was in the middle of his young master speech Draken arrived in front of him and without letting him finish punched him solidly in the gut before stepping back just in case he vomited. Even though the peacock had trained using a warrior manual, he didn''t take it seriously and so relied on other resources to promote his strength but without proper training he was nothing but a glass cannon.


    Kyle was surprised seeing Draken''s strength as array masters came from their abilities as sorcerers. How could Draken be so physically strong, as he was confused by this he heard a calm and mellow voice from beside him.


    "Draken trained as a sorcerer and warrior like me being a mage and sorcerer."


    Hearing his mothers words Kyle looked to her then back to Draken as out of everyone here he knew how difficult it would be to train in both those paths because there would be almost no overlap in the existing techniques so he must have trained 2 different techniques simultaneously. Back to Draken he was trying to sort out this mess as the peacock''s guards were now approaching.


    "YOU DARE TO ACT IMPUDENT IN THE ARRAY MASTERS GUILD. I''M TAKING THIS IDIOT TO THE CELLS, YOU TWO TELL OLD MAN MILES TO COME HERE TO DISCUSS REPARATION RIGHT NOW!"


    For once Draken had let slip his apathetic look and now looked truly enraged, looking at the other people in the hall Kyle could see that some visitors and young looking masters looked worried or fearful while the older members including his mother looked as though they were enjoying the show.


    "Mum what''s going on how can Draken act like that?"


    "Simple dear as the branch head he has the full backing of the upper management. If the Miles family chooses to press this issue the whole guild will come down on them."


    Historically no one would openly attack any of the guilds as for one, they were necessary for the functioning of the empire and secondly the amount of force the guilds can muster would be almost equal to the imperial army and with their specific skills sorcerers would have no trouble eliminating a small noble house, the only weird thing was why did the idiot think he could act the way he did with no repercussions.


    Speaking of the idiot he had been grabbed by a couple of the guild guards and they were dragging him away hopefully to some deep dark hole while his guards had already run out of the hall probably to report what had happened to their young master. Draken straightened his robe and calmed his expression before returning to Kyle and Maria.


    "If you would follow me I''ll get your credentials organised."


    He headed to one of the desks nearby with a surprised Kyle following who was thinking ''I''m supposed to be the main character right so should I have beaten that guy?'' Neither Maria nor Draken knew of Kyle''s thoughts so they just carried on with the details and before long Kyle received a guild card which was like his mothers card so he could use this as a debit card as well.


    "With this you are now an official member of the guild. If you look over to the wall there you will see available contracts, any questions?"


    "I have a couple but firstly I have to ask why are you processing new members?"


    Kyle was curious as to why the branch head would be dealing with this kind of thing as he surely had staff whom could do this kind of work. Draken looked at him for a moment before he responded.


    "I like to keep an eye out for new and talented masters no more no less."


    "Okay second question, if I find something new or develop something to do with arrays would the guild offer any kind of protection?"


    "Hum interesting question, all discoveries are protected by guild confidentiality. However this would depend on what kind of discovery and who you report it to, in all honesty not all masters are truly good men and if something came along that could help them they would readily drop all pretence and do whatever they could to control it."


    As Draken gave Kyle his advice his faced dropped and it was obvious he was speaking from experience, this would be an interesting story Kyle was sure but unfortunately he was on a tight schedule so he would have to try and get this info out of him at a later date.


    "Okay I have no further questions, I''ll have a quick peek at the board."


    Kyle stood up and held out his hand for Draken to shake. Although handshakes weren''t common in this world certain traders used this as a sign of a good deal so Draken wasn''t taken aback and shook Kyle''s hand firmly before Kyle and Maria moved over to the board to look at what was available. Draken took another look at them before he spoke to one of the staff before he headed upstairs to his office.


    Kyle had a quick scan at the job postings on the wall. They were mostly standard array repairs which adepts or journeymen could complete. There was one notice which grabbed Kyle''s attention.


    ''Black family requires master level array repair on ancient device. Price to be agreed in person, if interested contact Leonard Black family head.''


    Kyle found this interested as they said they had an inoperable ancient device. From the look of the job sheet it had been here for a while so none of the other masters had been able to get it sorted, so Kyle wanted to have a look for himself but that would be a job for tomorrow for now he just made note of the name and headed out of the building while his mother took his arm with a smile before she said to him.


    "Well done, but for now how about we go and have some lunch and do some shopping."


    Kyle didn''t think much before saying.


    "Yes we can do that but can Dylan join us for lunch."


    When they had entered the guild hall Dylan was left outside to watch over the horses and wait for their return. This wasn''t a bad duty as he sat in one of the waiting benches and was busy watching the pretty ladies going by. When Maria and Kyle approached he jumped up and was ready to serve.


    "Dylan we are going to have lunch and then do some shopping, you''ll join us for lunch of course."


    "But...but I''m only a guard I can''t sit at a nobles table."


    "Well in that case show us to a good commoner''s restaurant."

 51 Chapter 51 A quiet lunch

    "Well in that case show us to a good commoner''s restaurant."


    Dylan was surprised by Kyle''s suggestion but thought that if he was adamant that Dylan should eat with them he could at least take him somewhere which he knew wouldn''t look down on people. So with Dylan in the lead the three returned to the Powell''s territory and headed to one of the commercial districts within the area.


    Kyle was looking around as he hadn''t been out and about in the city before and as far as he was aware the previous Kyle had only been out occasionally and only to get some resource or another so he never stopped to smell the roses so to say.


    The commercial district they were riding through was a mid-sized one for New Grange city and there was a wide variety of things for sale within. Kyle saw armourers, weapon smiths, doctors, apothecaries and a large number of small stalls and shops selling various items.


    The whole area was brimming with a vibrancy Kyle hadn''t seen in a long time as people had moved away from markets like this and instead things were ordered online with almost no human interaction. This shouting and screaming to sell and buy carried an energy which was infectious and even Maria was infected as she was looking around for things to buy.


    The three were moving slowly through the district as the road was much smaller than the throughway they had ridden on to reach central zone and unlike some people they didn''t want to hurt or cause anyone problems plus as a bonus they could see things they wouldn''t have otherwise seen.


    Kyle decided this may be a good place to pick up the seeds he wanted for the third floor basement he had in his mansion, so he decided to return here once lunch was over. Dylan carried on leading the way and within a short time they arrived at a tidy little inn just off of the main route through the district.


    Dylan directed them through a large stable door to the side of the inn and explained that they could leave their steeds here if they wanted to explore the market. If they ate this would be a free service but if they weren''t eating they would have to pay a fee.


    The majority of payments in the district were made with copper and silver as gold was generally used for larger transactions or people would use their debit cards to make payments. Dylan lead the way to the inn''s entrance and opened the door showing several worn but clean tables on a stone floor which was being swept by a barmaid at the moment.


    When the barmaid looked up and saw Dylan entering she smiled before she spoke to him while blushing slightly.


    "Hi Dylan are you doing well I heard you got a job with the Powell heir has he been good to you why haven''t you been to see me recently?"


    All this was said in one breath leaving the three arrivals looking at the girl with wide eyes before Kyle elbowed Dylan in the gut before saying.


    "It''s alright Dylan we''ll go find a table you speak to your girlfriend."


    Maria and Kyle left a spluttering Dylan while they giggled to each other and found a table in a nice quiet corner and watched Dylan try to regain some composure or dignity.


    "Um hi Mavis I''ve been working at the estate and it''s only been a day or two since I last saw you."


    "I know but I still missed you. But tell me how is your new master and how''s he treating you?"


    Hearing Mavis''s question Dylan smiled and looked towards Kyle and Maria who were inspecting the cutlery on the tables which was a combination of chopsticks, knives and forks. Kyle was trying to work out why they had the different types available on the table and just decided it was so you could use what you wanted. Dylan looked back to Mavis with a larger smile on his face.


    "He''s treating me really well he''s even managed to heal me. I can train again so I''ve decided to work for him until he asks me to leave or I die in his service."


    "Dylan you shouldn''t make that kind of oath. You haven''t even known him for more than a couple of days, plus I heard he''s trash if you hitch your wagon to him won''t you be in trouble later?"


    Mavis spoke out the rumours that had been circulating around the market about the heir of the Powell family and that he would soon be removed from his position as heir and one of his cousins would be place instead. Dylan on hearing what Mavis said took on a cold look before saying.


    "We''ll take three specials, bring them over when you''re ready."


    Mavis was shocked by Dylan''s sudden coldness and before she could say anything he turned away and went to the table with Kyle and Maria. Mavis realised she had said something she shouldn''t and ran into the bag room while covering her mouth so she wouldn''t cry out. She had been infatuated with Dylan for a few years now and was hoping he would propose to her. She didn''t care that he couldn''t cultivate and only wanted to be with him but her words had poked a previously sore spot for him and insulted his saviour.


    When Kyle saw Dylan returning with a cold expression and Mavis running away with tears running down her cheeks, he looked at Dylan while cupping his hand under his chin and used his empathic sense to get an Idea of Dylan''s mood. He could sense pain, regret but also anger. Deciding this wasn''t a good thing for Dylan Kyle would have to intervene.


    "So Dylan talk to me."


    Maria hadn''t noticed the interaction between Dylan and Mavis as she had been busy looking around the inn as she hadn''t ever been to a place like this before. She thought it would be best to keep quiet and learn what Kyle was talking about. Kyle continued to look at Dylan while waiting for him to proceed.


    "We had a fight, she insulted you and by extension me. I didn''t think she would consider those who can''t cultivate as trash."


    Dylan looked even more depressed when he said this as it brought up all the fear and insecurity he felt when he was broken. Kyle continued watching him before he spoke again.


    "Do you love her?"


    "Yes I do."


    Dylan didn''t even pause before he responded but went red after he said this.


    "Well do you think these words were directed at you or were her own or instead was she just repeating something she heard without thinking more about it? Context is important not just content."


    Hearing what Kyle said Dylan began thinking about this and realised he was probably right. Mavis had never belittled him for being unable to cultivate and instead gradually got closer to him. What she said was about Kyle but he took that as a dig at him but it wasn''t what was intended. Feeling better about this Dylan decided to speak to Mavis and sort out the misunderstanding.


    They waited for about five minutes exchanging some small talk which was mostly Maria questioning Dylan about various things in the inn, before Mavis brought over their order while having red eyes. She placed their meals down while she looked away and avoided eye contact with everyone. Before she could run away Dylan caught her wrist and spoke to her.


    "Mavis I''m sorry I overreacted I know you didn''t mean to insult me when you said those things. Will you accept my apology?"


    Mavis looked at Dylan with hope in her eyes. Over time she had found out what happened to Dylan in the army so she gained a great respect for him which eventually became love.


    "Of course I accept your apology, also I need to apologise for saying those things about your master."


    "Well no time like the present he''s right there."


    Pointing at Kyle Dylan smirked while Mavis turned to Kyle with a scared look on her face. Kyle just grinned.


    "Yo."


    Kyle simply said the first thing that came to his head while Mavis was afraid of retribution. Maria was looking at the interaction between these people like it was a soap opera. She knew Mavis had insulted her baby boy but she also knew it was due to ignorance so she would give her a chance.


    "I''m sorry my lord I never meant to insult you. It was just what I heard in the market I didn''t ever think I would meet you here."


    Mavis was in a fluster as she had never been close to a noble before and she didn''t know if he would take vengeance on her. Kyle was going to make fun of her but seeing her panic he felt it would be better to calm the situation and seeing she was Dylan''s woman he didn''t want her to worry for him.


    "Don''t worry about it I''m used to it, but you should take any rumours or second hand information with a pinch of salt. Looks like you''ve got some customers by the way."


    Looking over Mavis''s shoulder Kyle saw a group of rough looking men coming into the inn. Mavis bowed to him before hustling over to the new arrivals. As Kyle was watching these men he had a bad feeling and this feeling proved true when the leader of these men grabbed Mavis by the neck and shouted in her face.


    "Where''s the money."


    Kyle remembered seeing something like this in a movie once, so like the movie he picked up one of the chopsticks charged it with mana before throwing it at the man''s hand. The chopstick penetrated at the base of the palm where the hand joins the arm and passed through getting lodged in the bone. The man dropped Mavis who began coughing while being slumped on the ground.


    "Ahhhhh who the hell did that, I will rip out your spine."


    Kyle was as surprised as anyone that what he did worked as he was just messing around. Standing up he looked at Dylan who was pulling his sword and his mother who was summoning the surrounding mana ready for battle before he spoke in a voice only these two could hear.


    "Awesome time to be a badass."

 52 Chapter 52 Rise of Badass

    "Awesome time to be a badass."


    Now some people may say that the decision to move before Kyle had the power to defend himself from the possible attacks from the shadows was a tactical blunder, however you should remember that sometimes the threat of a strong response is sometimes enough to prevent the attack in the first place hence the saying ''if you want peace prepare for war''.


    During his training Kyle had been messing around with the use of mana through his sub-nodes and he believed that the limit of special skills at level five was due to being able to release enough energy to externalise the energy, which would allow for elemental magic''s and the large scale sword waves everyone knows from stories.


    However due to his nodes and sub-nodes being clear and reinforced Kyle was able to use mana within his body to do some inhuman feats, such as when he charges mana through the third node in his brain and entered his reflex or matrix time where his senses and reflexes gave the illusion of everyone else slowing down.


    Kyle used this skill as he moved to the enemies and looked at what they were doing. The group was composed of 11 men, the leader and 9 others were turning towards Kyle and his group while the last was moving towards Mavis and raising what appeared to be a club getting ready to strike her.


    As Kyle saw this he was able to use the slowed time and produced a ''shield'' array and projected it protecting Mavis. While it was only his mind that was accelerated in this state and his body couldn''t move as fast, this allowed Kyle to use arrays in ways no one else could. Other masters would assemble an array and then project it but Kyle due to the advantage of his soul force, could create an array almost instantly and project it further.


    To everyone else''s view the 10 gang members that were turning towards Kyle looked intimidating and the last whom was ready to strike Mavis caused them to feel pity for the girl when suddenly there was a vivid flash as the club struck a golden symbol which suddenly appeared and the man was flung away like a poor dog''s chew toy.


    The others started to look towards the fallen bandit but before they could even turn Kyle was already amongst them. This was another cheat he had found while experimenting. By infusing mana into the sub-nodes in his legs he could generate a blast of speed in a linear direction, so he covered the distance between him and the bandits in the blink of an eye.


    Kyle didn''t draw his sword and instead used his fists and feet in ways no one else did in this world. First he took a low kick to one of the men''s knee dropping him down in front of him, as the man dropped Kyle kicked the man in the face with the sole of his foot breaking his nose and launching him across the floor.


    Using the counter force from this strike, Kyle made a back flip and made an axe kick taking down the man directly behind him. At his right a man tried to strike by swinging his club but Kyle moved with this clumsy strike and hit the man in the sternum with his elbow dropping another man.


    The rest of the bandits tried to move in as they had him surrounded but as the first fist came towards Kyle''s ear, he grabbed the man''s wrist and pulled him in the way of another incoming fist which caught the unfortunate man in the temple knocking his out.


    As Kyle was pulling the man''s arm he used this as a pivot and spinning 180 degrees he made a straight kick to the next man''s groin. The man dropped while whimpering and groaning on the ground. Kyle still had hold of the previous man''s wrist and as he felt him going down rolled over his back kicking the man who had struck his meat shield in the face making him stumble back.


    Kyle let go of the man letting him fully drop to the ground. There were now 5 men still up 2 of which were already injured, the leader had a chopstick through his hand and the man he had just kicked had stumbled back while shaking his head trying to clear his dizziness.


    Kyle looked to the remaining 3 who were shaking at this crazy kid who had taken out over half their number in seconds. Dylan was still drawing his sword and Maria hadn''t yet finished charging her mana when the pause in the fight happened. They were shocked seeing the speed of this fight, how can anyone fight like this it''s beyond a fight between humans.


    Kyle was aiming for this as there were others present in the inn and showing this level of power would make people worry. Where had he learnt this, who taught him and if he''s this strong already just how strong would his teacher be. Paranoia and fear of the unknown would be Kyle''s greatest allies and weapons until he was able to survive a straight up fight.


    The last three bandits were looking at Kyle as if he was a demon beast in human form. The one closest to the door slowly started to walk backwards towards the door, but how could Kyle allow this so with another burst of speed he shot between the two in front and did a double kick to the chest of the retreating bandit literally launching him through the open door and a good 5 meters clear. Using the counter force once again Kyle flipped and finished standing on the last 2 combat ready bandit''s shoulders.


    They looked slowly looked up while Kyle was looking down at them and as if by command both looked over their shoulders seeing the last of them laying face down in the road as he''d flipped over when his head hit the road.


    "Give up?"


    Kyle asked them with a smile on his face to which both just nodded so Kyle jumped back off their shoulders and landed softly in front of them once again. Once Kyle landed they both got down on their knees and began grovelling in front of him. As Kyle was watching them he caught a movement coming towards him from his peripheral vision.


    It was the man who he had kicked earlier who was dazed and had finally recovered enough to lunge towards him. Kyle turned and was ready to defend himself but Dylan came in like a wrecking ball and shoulder barged him so hard he slammed into the wall nearby and was knocked out cold.


    As Kyle began to breathe deeply to recover what little mana he had lost his mother came over to him and began to fuss over him. Checking everywhere for injuries, she was only satisfied a few minutes later as not even his clothing was damaged in this altercation. Kyle moved over to the leader who was still howling from having a chopstick stuck in his hand, while Dylan was checking on Mavis and Maria was watching over the still conscious bandits with lightning sparking around her arms. She was rather angry to put it mildly and she almost hoped these men would try something.


    Seeing Maria with the lightning playing around her arms, Kyle couldn''t wait till he punched through the fifth level and could do these things as well maybe while wearing a dark robe and saying something about being in the dark.


    Dismissing these thoughts Kyle returned his attention to the leader of the bandits. He grabbed the chopstick and infused some of his mana into it allowing him to pull it free. The bandit dropped on to his ass while cradling his hand before looking at Kyle.


    "So are you going to tell me who you work for?"


    "We are members of the seven snake''s gang."


    The leader didn''t even pause, after he had seen this fight he had no intention of disobeying these people. They hadn''t even managed to touch a hair on the kid''s hair let alone hurt him. As the leader spoke Dylan was the first to respond.


    "That gang is a protection racket from the slums, why are you her?"


    "I truly don''t know the bosses said to start operating around here so we did."


    Kyle was watching the man and could tell he wasn''t lying, he had been ordered to do something and so he did as he was told. Kyle was watching the man intently which started to make the man uncomfortable.


    "What is your name?"


    "My name is Derek."


    Kyle asked the leaders name as he had a feeling he would have a use for this man and his subordinates. But before he could continue with this train of thoughts there was sound from the street as a squad of guards ran over.


    "What''s happening here and who are you."


    The guard captain who was red faced from running over called out before directing his question at Kyle who was standing over a known criminal boss.


    "Me I''m Darth Badass."

 53 Chapter 52 Smoke and mirrors

    "Me I''m Darth Badass."


    Silence...if silence had a sound this is the sound it would make. Maria looked to Dylan while Dylan looked away and pretended he wasn''t involved. The guard captain was looking at these strange people before he spoke again.


    "Can someone please explain to me what has been going on here?"


    While the captain spoke his men dragged in the man who was face planted in the street. Seeing these men all together the guard captain had a look of realization cross his face as these were the men who had been disrupting his patrol area lately. Kyle decided to take the lead on this as everyone else was pretending to be invisible.


    "I''ll explain, we were out shopping and decided to stop here for lunch as our guard Dylan is a regular. While after we ordered our food these men came in and assaulted the barmaid so we intervened."


    Kyle tried to keep his explanation as simple as possible so mystery of how he defeated these men would grow with gossip. The guards rounded up the remaining men many of whom were still unconscious before the captain looked at the former leader.


    "You''ve been caught in the process of attacking business interests of the Powell family within their own territory which will see you jailed for 3 years do you have anything to say."


    The leader said nothing and merely looked down avoiding eye contact with everyone. Kyle had an idea that he could use these men. There will always be an underworld to society, so if Kyle couldn''t eradicate it he would instead control it through these men. They would be his shadow hand gathering information and removing problems which can''t be dealt with using straight forward means. In order to bring these people to heel Kyle needed something else this being the slave seal and luckily these poor sods had given him an excuse to do this.


    "Captain if I may, that isn''t all they are guilty of. They attacked nobles of the Powell family namely Maria Powell wife of the clan head and Kyle Powell heir to the family."


    The guard captain was confused for a second on hearing what Kyle said before comprehension dawned on him and he quickly bowed to him and Maria.


    "I''m sorry my lord, to verify what you''ve said I''m afraid I need to check your identity."


    Kyle was impressed by this man as even though he feared Kyle''s status he still followed protocol. Kyle looked to his mother who took out a family token which showed their status in the family. These tokens were specially made using expensive and rare materials so only nobles would use them. On seeing the token the captain just sighed and said to the now scared bandits.


    "Well you''re done now, the punishment for attacking a noble is death."


    The bandits began to struggle but as all except the leader were now bound they were unable to do anything. Kyle waited for a moment before he extended his devils bargain.


    "I have another solution, if you men agree you can accept a slave seal and work for me."


    When Kyle said this the captain was surprised but chose not to interfere as this was also an acceptable outcome for him. The leader raised his head and looked at Kyle.


    "If we accept this what will you have us do?"


    Although the captain was only a low level lieutenant in the gang he wasn''t stupid, for Kyle to propose this meant he had something in mind. Although they had attacked the business they never intended to kill anyone this was strictly an extortion racket and dead people pay no bills.


    Kyle could see the suspicion in the man''s eyes and felt this was good and he would be able to work with this.


    "It''s good to be on guard but you have this option or death and I can''t say what I will be requiring of you in public view."


    Kyle looked around to emphasise his point as people from the market had started gather at the door and windows trying to see what was happening. Looking at these people the leader swallowed before praying that he was making the right decision not just for him but for his men, they had been together since they were kids in the slums and it''s not like you have many options after being raised in that environment.


    "Very well I accept we will take the slave seal."


    The conscious men agreed so the captain had the guards take the men to the barracks to begin the procedure. As Kyle watched the men troop out he felt this had been a productive day but it wasn''t over yet. Also he wanted to speak to the captain about this attack.


    "Captain can I ask you if this is a common occurrence?"


    The captain looked towards Kyle before looking out the door his line of sight on the portion of the market in view.


    "It didn''t used to be but in the last few months gangs have started to pop up left and right. They''ve attacked businesses all over the Powell territory as far as I''m aware."


    Hearing the captain''s response Kyle found this interesting. If there was a large outbreak of gang violence like this for one there would have to be a cause and two why hasn''t the family head been informed. Kyle decided to get what information he could from this captain.


    "Captain why hasn''t the family head been informed and why haven''t you been able to catch the men before?"


    "We have informed the family, as per orders the reports are passed up the line but nothing had changed. Also we weren''t able to catch them before because we didn''t know where they operate from and they seem to know our routes even when we''d changed them."


    "Do you think you have a traitor in your group?"


    The captain became angry at this sentence and turned to Kyle but from his expression he could see no hint of accusation instead it seemed Kyle was merely asking a question.


    "No I don''t think so, I trust these men with my back and when I''ve spoken to other captains they say they''ve got the same issue. Some didn''t even tell their men before leaving to patrol."


    "Do you log you patrol routes before you head out?"


    "Yes everyday we have to submit our planned routes to our superiors for verification and acceptance. I''ve already thought of this but our superiors only cover 3 or 4 different areas and they can''t all be corrupt, can they?"


    Kyle was thinking fast now as he found that in any hierarchical system if you go high enough you''ll reach one man but there are other levels which information must pass through and there had to be someone who could see the routes for all the patrols.


    The obvious suspect was his oldest uncle Harris who controlled the enforcement and protection details of the family. Even though Landon is the overall leader certain parts have been delegated to ensure their smooth operation.


    This would take further investigation as Kyle''s gut feeling was this was all related to his poisoning. By taking out the heir of the family and weakening their financial power they would become vulnerable and with the common people in fear of these new gangs, they would welcome any stabilising force.


    "Captain would you be able to get copies of all the reports of these gangs from your records and from the other captains you''ve spoken to."


    "It shouldn''t be a problem, but if I may ask why do you want them?"


    "I''m looking for a common theme or thread to these gangs, the fact they all popped up at around the same time is highly irregular add in the fact they can operate around our patrols show''s me there is something coming."


    The captain was watching Kyle as he was spinning his theory and was impressed by this young boy and decided gather as much intelligence as he could to help as he now believed that if Kyle took the leadership of the family it would be a good thing.


    "Okay I''ll get everything I can when should I get it delivered to you?"


    "No don''t deliver it, we have to keep this quiet, I don''t want others to know what I''m looking into as that will only alert them and push them into hiding. Dylan my guard will come and pick up what you''ve managed to pickup in three days time."


    Kyle indicated towards Dylan who nodded to the captain while he was hugging Mavis calming her down.


    "Well if everything is sorted can I get some food I''m starving."

 54 Chapter 54 Fan service

    "Well if everything is sorted can I get some food I''m starving?"


    Hearing Kyle everyone could only shake their heads and carry on. The captain left and Dylan helped Mavis up who quickly went back to the kitchen while Dylan returned to the table and saw a smirking Kyle.


    "Well it looks like you''ve made some progress."


    "Oh do I need to get a new dress, I''ll definitely need one for the wedding and some new shoes as well."


    Both Maria and Kyle were merciless in their teasing and Dylan could only keep his head down while his face was burning with embarrassment. While Dylan was hoping a hole would appear in the floor and swallow him up, the food they had ordered was delivered by Mavis. Once she put the plates on the table she bowed down to Kyle before speaking.


    "Thank you for saving me and I apologise again."


    Kyle wasn''t used to being apologised to so he panicked a little on seeing this woman bow and beg for forgiveness and he responded quickly.


    "Please stand up its fine and I was glad I could help."


    While they were speaking a man with a red face came out from the back of the inn. He had a large handlebar moustache and he could definitely afford to lose some weight.


    "Thanks for the help lad if you hadn''t been here it could have gone a lot worse. As thanks I''ll make your meals free for today."


    While the man thanked them the reward was about as cheap as it could be which made Dylan and Mavis dissatisfied but Kyle and Maria weren''t bothered so they just accepted before digging in. Seeing no bad feelings Dylan shrugged to Mavis before he began eating as well while Mavis went back to the rear of the inn where they could hear her raised voice berating the man who they discovered was her father.


    Finishing their meal Maria and Kyle headed outside allowing Dylan to say goodbye privately. Once Dylan was with them they began walking through the market. Maria was looking through various fabrics and some homemade jewellery while Kyle was speaking to some grocers and apothecaries aiming to get some seeds he was looking at planting.


    Kyle managed to get his hands on a selection of seeds. There were some rarer seeds and he also managed to get some standard crop seeds and Maria found some fabrics she would have made into some new clothes.


    Once they were finished Kyle decided to have a word with his mother as where he was planning on going next isn''t the kind of place you would take your mother unless you had some very specific tastes.


    "Mom can you head back, I''ve got some other business to attend to and I''ll need to pick up those guys from earlier on the way back."


    Kyle didn''t have to worry about his mother getting back safely as she was a second stage mage so no one would willingly fight her. But he was expecting an argument as he was sure she would want to come with him to protect him.


    "No problem dear, don''t stay out to late."


    She kissed him on the forehead before heading to the stables leaving behind a thoroughly confused Kyle. He was sure that his mother would make a scene so he had come up with any number of reasons and excuses for her to return but these were now completely unnecessary.


    Dylan was surprised as well but amused himself by watching Kyle''s mother breaking his brain. He watched as Kyle could only open and close his mouth obviously trying to say what he had on his mind to his mothers retreating back.


    Kyle shook himself out of his stupor before addressing Dylan.


    "Okay it''s time we met your contact in the slums. Lead the way, oh and should I expect anything unusual."


    This was the first time Kyle would be going somewhere like this and even if he had no intention of availing himself of their services he didn''t want to be taken unaware.


    "No there shouldn''t be anything unusual, just don''t concern yourself with the slaves present. All slaves in this business are legal and have their papers."


    Kyle looked at Dylan with questions in his eyes so Dylan elaborated.


    "The madam takes in girls to work like any other but she is also contracted to take in female slaves. These are kept separate and are available for direct purchase."


    Kyle understood now she was a brothel madam and also a slave trader who dealt solely with women. Kyle wasn''t planning on interfering with the system as this was put in place by the empire but this did give him a couple of new ideas.


    Dylan began leading the way and as they got further away from the market Kyle could see the quality of the buildings gradually got worse. They walked for around 30 minutes before they reached a building which looked very similar to a noble''s house but it was surrounded by hovels.


    As they approached the front door Kyle could see 2 large men standing on either side. These were obviously some of the security men for the business. This was obvious as nowhere like this could operate without security.


    Dylan and Kyle passed between these 2 men and entered the foyer. There was a long deck in front of them which was manned by an attractive young woman of around 15 to 16 years old. Due to large curtains covering the entrances on either side of the counter Kyle couldn''t see further inside but he could hear soft laughter and light music. Dylan walked up to the young lady before speaking.


    "Good afternoon, my young master has some business he would like to speak with Lady Sparrow about."


    Kyle hated being called young master but he let it slide this time as he knew this was so he could have a certain standing in others eyes. The receptionist looked towards Kyle before saying in a soft voice.


    "Of course sir, may I ask the young sirs name so I may inform the madam?"


    Dylan looked towards Kyle who nodded.


    "Yes my master is Kyle Powell heir to the Powell family."


    The receptionist didn''t show any reaction to the professed trash of the Kyle family being present she just asked them to kindly wait in her quiet voice before heading to a staircase behind another curtain. As they were waiting another young lady came and offered them tea before taking position behind the desk.


    Kyle and Dylan enjoyed their tea for a few minutes. Kyle didn''t know much about tea and Dylan knew even less but it was very tasty even without milk. They didn''t have to wait long as the original receptionist appeared before asking them to follow her.


    They made their way up the spiral staircase which must snake through the building leading to the highest room within the building. Reaching here they were presented with a solid door which Kyle could see had several locking and protection arrays of various types on it and within the frame as well.


    Kyle would hazard a guess that the entire building had arrays spread throughout it. Knocking once on the door the receptionist opened it before standing to the side. As they entered the room Kyle inspected the receptionist and then the room at large. It had large windows giving an open feeling and a large bookshelf against one wall while the other wall gave an overview of the main hall which was hidden behind the curtains.


    The centre piece of the office was a large wraparound desk where a woman sat. She was striking in her beauty with long dark brown hair and deep blue eyes. When Kyle looked to her he was surprised, not by her beauty or her age which looked to be around the mid 20''s but due to a resemblance between her and the receptionist.


    Kyle looked over his shoulder before he smiled and spoke his mind.


    "Ah I see it''s a family business, sisters?"


    Hearing Kyle the receptionist frowned while lady Sparrow smiled at him.


    "Well aren''t you a clever little thing. Take a seat and let''s discuss this business proposal you have."


    Lady Sparrow obviously wasn''t intimidated by Kyle being a noble and he was pleased she didn''t want to mess around so he took his seat while Dylan stood to one side.


    "First point of business I have to discuss with you would be the establishment of a cooperative deal. You give me information you gain from your clients and I give you skills and techniques you require to protect yourself and interests."


    The woman was taken aback by Kyle''s direct manner. She was expecting word play and hidden meanings, this wasn''t the first time she had dealt with a noble and they never spoke straight so she did to force the issue.


    "Why do you think I would need any techniques for?"


    Lady Sparrow decided to get more information before she spoke any further.


    "The techniques you and you sister are using are incomplete military ones so you are damaging your bodies and if you continue pushing yourself you''ll be crippled in the next couple of years."


    Kyle didn''t even need to enter their spiritual realms to see the damage they were doing to themselves as he had seen it so many times. Just by extending his soul force he could feel the flow of mana and identify what was happening within them.


    Lady Sparrow and her sister were both shocked by this but Lady Sparrow knew that she was gradually getting weaker and it wouldn''t be long until she lost her business because she couldn''t protect it. To give her time to think she chose to continue the conversation.


    "You said the first point what would the second be?"


    "I''m going to need female slaves about 30. They don''t need any training but I would prefer those who are looking for something better."


    "If I can ask what do you want with so many slaves at one time?"


    "Have you heard of ninja maids?"

 55 Chapter 55 Reaching an agreemen

    "Have you heard of ninja maids?"


    "Who''s a what now?"


    Lady Sparrow had never heard this term before. Kyle had now thoroughly confused her, which was incredibly hard to do given her kind of work but with his insight and strange terms she was really struggling to understand this kid so she instead decided to bring the conversation back to something she at least had some grasp on.


    "Considering you are willing to give me and my sister a technique I''ll assume there are some terms attached to this agreement?"


    "Very astute of you, the technique cannot be taught to anyone without my express permission. To enforce this you and your sister would be required to submit to a servant seal, now before you immediately reject let me explain its functions."


    Kyle explained how a servant seal would only block the recipient from giving information while not allowing the holder to command the recipient in any way so they would be a servant rather than a slave. He even went so far as to show this new seal in front of them.


    "Also within this seal is the understanding that my purchase of slaves will be confidential, now do you have any questions?"


    "Um I have one, if we are training under you and are essentially your servants what are you going to do about the gang provide our security?"


    Lady Sparrow''s sister spoke up and wanted some kind of assurance that her sister and she would be protected.


    "That shouldn''t be any problem but if I can ask what is the name of the gang running your security?"


    It was still Lady Sparrow''s sister who responded as Lady Sparrow was still thinking about this deal.


    "Currently we are being extorted by the seven snake''s gang. They take about 60% of what we earn and take our women for nothing. They have even tried to take me and my sister."


    Her voice was filled with hate as she spoke about this gang, they had a terrible reputation and committed acts of violence with no provocation. Kyle found this to be fortuitous and felt this would be a good area for his ''shadow hand'' to expand from.


    "Don''t worry I will shortly have some me who will be enforcing order on the slums, they will be able to provide you with protection for 15% of your takings and if they wish to avail themselves of your services they must pay like anyone else. I give you my word and this can be included within the agreement."


    Lady Sparrow on hearing this concession found the deal to be more and more lucrative. She already gathered the rumours and secrets her girls found out but she only used this to protect herself. If she was able to exchange this with Kyle it would be in her favour. Even if it was just removing the seven snakes it would be worth it, if you included the technique he had promised the deal appeared heavily weighted in her favour. Thinking up to this point Lady Sparrow decided to take the plunge.


    "I agree to your terms, I will also throw in the slaves as their value isn''t as high as what I''m losing to our current guards. Do you know when we''ll see them?"


    If she was going to do this she wanted her new security to be with them as soon as possible. The damage the seven snakes were doing was losing her business and with the violence they perpetrated fewer people had begun to frequent her brothel.


    "I should be able to send a small group in a few days, if the situation escalates let me know and I''ll dispatch my personal guards."


    Lady Sparrow decided this would be acceptable but before she made the final decision she looked to her sister.


    "Faye this also affects you, do you have anything you wish to add."


    The now named Faye thought for a second before shaking her head.


    "Sister you haven''t steered us wrong yet so I''ll follow whatever you decide."


    Saying her piece Faye fell silent and continued to watch the proceedings. Lady Sparrow looked straight at Kyle and smiled probably the first true smile she had shown since they had entered.


    "Very well Lord Powell I accept your terms, when would you like to have the seal placed."


    "How about right now."


    Before Faye or Lady Sparrow could even blink Kyle projected the seals to both of them and they sunk into their bodies making them his servants in all but name. They were both surprised as seals should only be able to take if the recipient accepted it but unknown to them Kyle''s soul was so strong this prohibition didn''t extend to him and as he had never fully studied the slave seals he didn''t know the seal had to be accepted to take hold.


    "Well now that is done would you like the technique now or would you like to come to my mansion to train. I wouldn''t recommend the latter for now though as it may arouse suspicion."


    Lady Sparrow agreed with this and decided just to receive the technique and she and her sister would train it in private. People currently wouldn''t suspect anything as Kyle was also planning on having a large number of slaves which would explain their private meeting.


    Kyle imparted his first level of his technique and explained that once they had completed this level he would provide them with the next. While they weren''t exactly satisfied with this they couldn''t blame him for holding back parts of the technique, but Kyle wasn''t doing this on purpose instead he was worried that if he gave people the higher levels of the technique they may unintentionally injure themselves.


    Kyle had them do a few cycles of this technique to check if there were any problems or abnormalities. On seeing that everything was in order Kyle told them it was fine to proceed as they were which would in turn heal the damage they had received from the incomplete technique they had been training in. Seeing Kyle was happy with their progress Lady Sparrow spoke to Faye.


    "Sister could you take our esteemed guest to the pit to select his slaves."


    "Of course sister, gentlemen if you could follow me I''ll show you the way."


    Kyle thanked Lady Sparrow before following Faye out of the room followed by Dylan. Lady Sparrow was still seated at her desk while looking at the now closed door. She thought over the conversation and the fact that she was now this child''s servant and couldn''t help but think how strange this whole situation was. Why did she listen and trust this child so much, also how was he able to do these things. It was too late now however not that she regretted her decision, she felt this would probably be the best choice she had made.


    She began training in Kyle''s technique and felt a heavenly relief as her body began the process of healing itself. This technique was truly magical to her as pains she didn''t even realise she had were relived and this freedom from old pains felt and unfelt let something break away within her and in her heart she made the choice to follow this kid come hell or high water.


    Faye led Kyle and Dylan back through the reception and into the grand hall. Looking around Kyle was surprised by how simple this hall looked. There were no gaudy signs or the like instead it was a quiet establishment with pretty women quietly speaking to the clients with the only indication of something unusual being the fact occasionally one of the women would lead a client to some stairs leading to the second floor were *cough* business could commence.


    They reached the rear of the hall and Faye led them into a separate area. This new area looked like a large reception room with a few couches against one wall. Faye indicated to the couches before she spoke.


    "If you would like to take a seat I''ll start bringing in the girls. Do you have any preference before I start organising them?"


    As there would be a large number of girls to inspect Faye wanted to have some criteria to work to so she could save some time. Kyle thought for a moment before he thought of Miranda and the progress she was making.


    "Ideally I''m looking for ages 20 and under and as low a cultivation level as possible."


    Hearing his choices Faye nodded before heading through the door at the side. Dylan was looking at Kyle in a strange way so a little confused Kyle spoke to him.


    "Dylan what''s up why are you looking at me like that?"


    "No problem sir I just didn''t expect you to be that mature yet."

 56 Chapter 56 Loli ge

    "No problem sir I just didn''t expect you to be that mature yet."


    Kyle paused for a second on hearing what Dylan said before a grin spread across his face and he spoke with an air of authority.


    "You should never underestimate me, if I say it''s at full mast it most definitely will be."


    Dylan decided to play along when he heard his young master screwing around.


    "Well young master I shall bow to your tent pole."


    Dylan bowed his head when suddenly he heard a soft cough from behind him. Slowly turning his head Dylan saw Faye standing there with her arms crossed. It was at this point Dylan remembered he was talking to a child, so hoping to save himself he looked at Kyle for help. Kyle instead looked at Dylan with a confused expression.


    "What do you mean Dylan? I have no idea what you''re talking about."


    Seeing he wasn''t getting out of this with any kind of dignity Dylan just began to pay attention to a corner of the room while blocking everything else out. Kyle saw this and began giggling. Once his people were away from what was dragging them down he found them to be fun and funny.


    Seeing their little skit was over Faye walked into the centre of the room followed by a group of 10 girls all under the age of 20. All these girls looked a little worse for wear as they all appeared to have come from one slum or another. Once the girls had lined up Faye spoke to Kyle.


    "These ladies are all under the age of 20, most are only up to level 1 in their cultivation while the 3 youngest haven''t started training. They have all been taken as slaves due to debts either they owed or their parents owed and were taken as collateral."


    Kyle looked over the girls carefully while extending his soul force to get an idea of what kind of techniques they had trained in. From a cursory glance it appeared they all studied the basic technique provided to all civilians by the empire.


    "Okay Faye these are satisfactory. You can bring in the next batch."


    Faye nodded as they only had enough space to bring in 10 at a go because they never dealt with slaves in bulk before. She knew this youngster had something in mind for these girls and as they were debt slaves she hoped they could aim for something better than being someone''s sex slave.


    Kyle wasn''t worried about how they looked or even if they had a stronger cultivation. With his technique almost anything was appearing to be possible so he just needed numbers and loyalty. These women would be trained and would be his last line of defence. His guards would be his visible force while his shadow hand would deal with external threats, finally these girls would be present around his mansion while not showing their abilities until the opportune moment.


    When the next group traipsed in they were largely the same just with a higher number of younger girls. This didn''t bother Kyle in fact this was preferable because as they were trained they would become part of his now extended family and would become very loyal. Kyle was also satisfied with this crowd and on telling Faye this she was surprised.


    Faye felt Kyle wanted people who would be able to work straight away and with training would be able to help guard him. She didn''t realise however Kyle was aiming for the long game and wanted true loyalty from the heart and not some enforced loyalty because of the slave seal.


    As this group left Faye waited to the side until the last of them had left before she spoke to Kyle once again.


    "I''m sorry to inform you Lord Powell but due to the large number of slaves this was the last optimal group within your specification. We have older women who could fill the numbers or we can wait till fresh stock comes in."


    "Wait you said optimal, what do you mean by that?"


    "Well sir the remaining girls who are within your range are all injured in one way or another. Some can be healed while the others will most likely end up working in the crystal mines."


    "That''s okay you can bring out the injured as well."


    Kyle wasn''t bothered if they were injured and wondered what caused these girls to be in this state. Faye was away for a few minutes, so while she was organising the girls Dylan decided to speak to Kyle.


    "Sire are you sure you want to bring the injured with us?"


    "Its fine Dylan you should know the power of the technique after what you''ve seen. Besides its better they''re with us than they end up in some hell hole. Plus if what I''m planning comes to pass I''ll need a lot more people so you can consider this a testing bed."


    Dylan fell silent on hearing what Kyle said while wondering why he would need a lot of people. The Powell family already had a lot of guards and his mansion could only house around 200 to 300 people.


    Faye brought in the final batch of girls and while 2 of them appeared to be fine the rest all had injuries of one type or another visible. Amongst these injured there were a couple who really stood out. One girl had burns down one side of her face and her hand also appeared burnt so she probably had scars all along that side of her body, while another had visible slash marks across her face Kyle surmised they were from a demon beast attack. The rest had limps or crippled hand and the like.


    Seeing them Kyle looked at them without disgust as he found these injuries to be superficial and while no one else in the city could do anything to help them Kyle felt his technique should be able to heal these physical injuries easily.


    "Faye can I just check, how did these girls become debt slave?"


    "Well sir in order to pay for medical treatments their families had no choice but to use them as payment for the healer''s services."


    Kyle could have wailed at the injustice of this but he knew that some people would always be selfish and greedy it was just human nature. Even he was willing to help these girls in order to help himself it was only he wouldn''t treat them badly after the fact. Looking over the girls Kyle decided to check if there was anything he should be aware of.


    "Faye do any of these girls have any special circumstances I should be aware or wary of?"


    "Nothing special sir, the eighth along from the left also has some trouble breathing under strenuous exercise oh and the girl with the burns received them when she was training in alchemy and her concoction exploded, she was a trainee mage when this happened but hasn''t been able to progress since so her master sold her to recover some of the costs of her treatment. She was originally from Shade Gate city which is 2 cities south from here."


    Hearing this girl actually had some alchemy training made Kyle ecstatic. This was exactly what he needed as he didn''t have any details about alchemy and the process needed to produce the things they did beyond a simple manual from the family library. Kyle looked over the burned girl once again.


    The burned girl would have been pretty with long blond hair and clear grey eyes but with the burns and half her hair now gone she instead looked broken with no will or vitality left in her. Kyle decided he would pay special attention to this girl as she would be a great help in his upcoming plans.


    "Okay Faye add this batch to the rest and we''ll conclude our deal."


    Faye was surprised he accepted all these girls but she was still thankful as it would have been easy for her to have ended up as a slave if her sister wasn''t there for her after their parents died. Faye felt that this was the best outcome for these girls and just hoped they wouldn''t destroy this opportunity.


    "Well Faye if you can organise the delivery of the girls tomorrow, I''ll need to get everything organised at home and I also have to pick up some men on my way back."


    Hearing Kyle''s words Dylan perked up once again as he could finally escape from his earlier embarrassment.


    "Oh great sir we''re going to pick up some men."

 57 Chapter 57 Check out them balls

    "Oh great sir we''re going to pick up some men."


    ...


    "Dylan I have to say sometimes you should think before you speak."


    Kyle placed his head in his hands and feared for the future of humanity''s IQ if Dylan managed to breed while Faye stood to the side with her hand over her mouth to stop from laughing. Dylan looked between them with a confused look on his face before a gradual blush worked its way up from his neck as he realised the meaning of what he said.


    "No no no that''s not what I meant."


    Kyle laughed at Dylan''s antics and Faye could no longer contain her giggles. Seeing the interaction between Dylan and Kyle she felt they were more like family with Kyle being smarter so he always lead Dylan astray. She felt that the alliance between them and her sister could be the best thing to happen to them in a long time. Once they had laughed themselves out she spoke to Kyle.


    "If there is nothing else sir I will arrange the girls to be brought to you at first light tomorrow."


    "That will be fine and please also know that if you or your sister needs mine or my peoples help just come over or if you can sneak over just come for dinner or breakfast. You are part of the family now."


    Saying his piece Kyle stood up with Dylan and left. Faye was standing in the room thinking of Kyle''s parting comment, how nice will it be to have people to protect and back them up now.


    Kyle and Dylan exited the brothel and began walking back to the market to pick up the bandits and their steeds which they had left at the inn. As they were walking through the slums Kyle was looking around to get an idea of the layout of the place and how it could be improved.


    From what Kyle could see, the road layout and some of the house looked similar to more affluent areas of the city just older and more broken down. There were buildings in various states of dereliction and everyone they saw kept their heads down and shuffled from one area to another. Every once in a while they would hear a burst of laughter or murmur of conversation but these indications of life and happiness were quickly stifled.


    Kyle felt this place was a hole that once you fell in would swallow you with no chance of recovery. As they were walking Kyle noticed some ruins a way off from the main road, these ruins were different than the other broken down buildings as for one they hadn''t been re-inhabited and the area they covered was far more extensive.


    Kyle turned towards these ruins while Dylan followed a couple of steps behind. As Kyle reached the outlying stones he inspected them and realised why he felt a sense of familiarity with them. These stones were fused together like those that made up his mansion.


    "Dylan is this one of the destroyed buildings which is similar to my mansion?"


    Kyle asked Dylan as with the lower light he couldn''t see clearly and wanted to check.


    "We don''t know for sure but a few people think so, plus they say it''s cursed land so no one wants to live on the site."


    Kyle started to look through the building with his eyes and soul sight active. Kyle could see many broken arrays on the foundations which were left with a few arrays flickering to life for a second before failing again. This would be invisible to the naked eye but people would get a sense of discomfort from the mana fluctuations which were probably where the rumours of curses came from.


    While Kyle was walking around and inspecting the ruins he could feel Dylan getting agitated, so in order to distract him Kyle began talking to him.


    "Dylan I''m curious about the slums. From what I can see the infrastructure looks similar to the rest of the city but the buildings are wrecked, do you know what happened?"


    "Well sir before I was born this area of the city was very similar to the rest of the city and back then there were a few satellite cities further west. One day the satellite cities were attacked by demon beasts simultaneously."


    Dylan paused here and swallowed trying to wet his throat.


    "I''ve seen when the beasts attack a city, it''s horrendous with people being killed all around and eaten right there. This one was different however as losing three cities in one day has never happened. The imperial governor of the city at that time ordered the army and as many commoners as possible to march out to meet this horde."


    Dylan paused again at this point as he recalled the stories he''d heard when he had first arrived at this city.


    "It was a slaughter, the standing garrison was obliterated along with the governor and fully 3 quarters of the commoners were killed. Then the horde reached New Grange city, they were met by the combined forces of the 3 noble families and all the remaining commoners. They managed to kill the horde with your family having the greatest contributions. In the battle this area of the city was hard hit and has never recovered."


    "You said 3 noble families, who was missing?"


    "The Miles family wasn''t here back then, they appeared shortly after and seized some of the business that had been left by a destroyed merchant family."


    Well wasn''t that interesting the Miles was not a native family so where did they come from and why did they choose New Grange city as their base. It may have been simply opportunity with a weakened populace they could safely seize a slice for themselves before anyone else could recover.


    As they were speaking Kyle had finished his inspection and found this place had a similar layout to his mansion but there were a couple of differences. This was probably due to them having different functions as his appeared to be some kind of training or research building while this one appeared more Spartan.


    During his inspection Kyle found an array which was still active due to it drawing mana from the ambient air rather than from any mana source. This was an ''illusion'' array located at what looked to be part of the former staircase.


    Kyle approached this array and even though he didn''t have the true means to unlock it he was able to use his soul sight to see responses from the control ring as he tried different combinations. This was like when someone feels for the clicks on a combination safe as they turn the tumbler, yup Kyle had now become a safe cracker.


    The array didn''t last long and within 5 minutes the array disappeared showing an intact stone staircase leading down. Kyle was feeling like a true explorer now all he needed was a leather jacket and a whip and he''d be set. Leading the way down Kyle was expecting ''light'' arrays to trigger like they had when he had entered the sub levels in his own mansion. But nothing happened, looking at the locations the array''s should be located Kyle saw they were intact but had no mana flowing to them so he inject a small portion of his mana into the arrays giving him and Dylan enough light to progress.


    As they reached an open area which should correlate with the blacksmith area and formation chamber in his mansion Kyle looked around and found it was empty except for along the far wall where the entrance to the formation chamber was and they could see the door was blown outwards.


    Seeing the damage done Kyle couldn''t help but gulp as he knew how strong those doors should be and to see one bent and blown apart like this was a little scary, what could have the power or strength to do that?


    They cautiously approached the gaping maw expecting something to jump out at any time but luckily or unluckily there was nothing there only shards of a shattered mana crystal and a gold ring which should have surrounded the intact mana crystal now in two pieces on the floor.


    Thinking there was nothing he could do here for the moment Kyle began to leave but had a sudden idea. Returning to the staircase Kyle inspected the back and to his happiness he found another active ''illusion'' array. He assumed the ''illusion'' arrays were able to draw mana from the atmosphere in case the mana crystal was disabled or destroyed like what had happened. He would need to look at the control ring for these to find out who this was done and why it was only these arrays that were made like this.


    Entering this new staircase Kyle and Dylan walked down to the next floor where like his mansion had a room made unlike any other he had seen with green stone and unknown symbols. Unlike with his mansion the centre of the room didn''t have a constant flow of mana going through it and he could see what was there clearly.


    Coming down from the ceiling was a smooth spike which ended about 5 feet above the ground and coming up from the ground was a circular pillar with a spherical indentation in the centre. The pillar came up about 3 feet leaving a gap of about 2 feet between them.


    As Kyle approached he kicked something which was hidden in the dark. Kneeling down Kyle found 2 spheres of about 6 inches diameter which were made of some kind of black metal with patterns covering them.


    Not knowing what to do Kyle took these spheres and with a last look at the altar he and Dylan began to leave.


    "Hey Dylan what do you think about these balls?"

 58 Chapter 58 Toy soldiers

    "Hey Dylan what do you think about these balls?"


    "Well they''re quite impressive."


    ".....Dylan whatever anyone says never change."


    "Okay??"


    Deciding it would be best to leave now Kyle led Dylan out of the basement while re-activating the ''illusion'' arrays behind them to maintain the secrecy of the place. They carried on towards the market when Kyle spoke to Dylan.


    "Dylan tomorrow can you investigate if anyone owns the land that the ruins are on. I would like to take possession of it but if it is owned I want to know what price it would be."


    "No problem sir I''ll check at the imperial offices tomorrow morning."


    As they got closer to the market Kyle got a feeling they were being watched. He quietly looked around trying to find the source but there were too many places where people could hide and the range of his soul force wasn''t enough to pick up the source of the gaze.


    Thinking it was better safe than sorry Kyle placed his hand on the hilt of his sword in preparedness. When Dylan saw Kyle slowly grasping the hilt of his sword, he became alert as well. While he didn''t prepare to draw his weapon he did however move slightly to the left giving Kyle and himself more room to move.


    This movement was due to the training they had undertaken earlier and with Kyle''s guidance they had better means of fighting at close quarters like in the alley they were in. They carried on at a slightly slower pace being ready for anything.


    As they came to a crossroads at the head of the alley a child came quickly from the right and tried to bump into Kyle. This wasn''t an attack as the child had no cultivation or even a weapon. As the child rushed towards Kyle he merely stepped back and stuck out his leg tripping the child who was rushing through.


    The kid ended up face first on the ground and began to sniffle. Kyle came close to him before he spoke.


    "So why were you trying to bump into me?"


    Hearing Kyle the kid stopped sniffling and looked up at him. Fearfully looking between Kyle and Dylan he didn''t respond because of fear before Kyle spoke again in a kinder tone.


    "Look I can imagine why you tried to bump into me but I want to know why. Can you tell me?"


    Kyle was trying to get the kid to talk because he was young for a pickpocket so there had to be some reason for his actions and Kyle didn''t want to destroy a child''s life for no reason.


    "Sir I need money to pay for my sister..she''s sick I don''t know what to do."


    On saying this the kid began bawling his eye''s out, Kyle used his empathy when the kid confessed and found he was telling the truth.


    "Okay calm down why don''t you take us to see your sister, we may be able to help okay?"


    Kyle spoke to the kid trying to get him to calm down, one thing Kyle couldn''t deal with in his previous life was crying kids and it seemed this life was no different. The kid looked at him with surprise which turned into suspicion but seeing no way out he stood up and led them to his home.


    The kid''s home was a small barely standing hovel a little way back from the main road into the market. It was in a bad state and looked as if it may collapse at any moment, it was also smaller than even the other hovels around it which showed it had been built by this kid and maybe his sister. Dylan spoke this time.


    "Hey kid what happened to your parents."


    "I don''t really know, my sister says we were sent away when bad people came to our home to keep us safe and our parents were hurt by the bad people but I don''t remember it."


    Nodding to his self Kyle thought it was most likely a gang which had attacked for money or some other reason or just for shits and giggles as people had been killed for less in the slums.


    Kyle looked at the size of the place and spoke to Dylan.


    "You''d better stay out here, I don''t know if the place would survive both of us entering."


    Dylan looked over the place and felt Kyle may be right, it was in that bad a state it looked like a breath of wind could make it collapse so he stood on station next to one of the more solid buildings nearby.


    The kid led Kyle into the hovel via a hole which served as a door. Kyle looked around and it looked surprisingly cosy inside. You could see the hovel was in a bad state but there were plants in broken pots around and there was a homely feeling to the place.


    The kid led him to a bunch of blankets where he could see a young girl with red hair was laying. She didn''t move as they approached and her breathing was rather shallow. The strange thing was that Kyle could clearly see blue veins on her face, arms and hands.


    Looking her over Kyle felt she was in a bad state. He gave her a quick scan with his soul force and felt there was something familiar about her. It was just a feeling which he couldn''t place, it may have been from the previous Kyle as this feeling was fleeting at best.


    Kyle looked over the hovel and the girl again before making a decision.


    "Okay kid I''ll do what I can to heal your sister but if I do both of you will need to work as my servants is that okay with you."


    Kyle wasn''t aiming to create a legion of child soldiers but given what seems to be occurring within the city and the lack of care orphans seemed to be given it was better they were with him than on the streets.


    The kid thought for a minute or two as it was usually his sister who made the decisions for them as she was older than he was. Unable to think of any other solution he chose to trust this young master who was the first to offer them a helping hand. The other people of the slum aren''t bad people but they all have their own issues to deal with and didn''t have the resources to help out a couple of kids unrelated to them.


    "I agree we will work for you if you can help my sister."


    "Okay I won''t do anything here, let''s get you both back to my mansion and then I''ll have a look. Grab anything you want to bring with you."


    The kid began routing around picking up various items and laid them in a sheet he had picked up from the ground to make a bundle he could carry. He was done in quick time and in just a moment they were ready.


    Kyle picked up the girl who was shockingly light and they exited the hovel. Dylan saw them exiting and his eyes opened wide when he saw Kyle carrying a little girl in a princess carry.


    "What''s happening sir?"


    "Don''t worry Dylan, we are taking these 2 in and I need to heal the girl once we get back. It isn''t safe to do it here. Can you carry her until we pick up the baggage?"


    Dylan didn''t think too much about and lifted the girl from Kyle''s arms and they all began traipsing out of the slums. As they left a few people saw them with the kids which would lead to some rumours about Kyle and his preferences.


    Finally they returned to the market and Kyle went to the inn to recover their steeds while Dylan waited with the kids. When Kyle reclaimed their steeds he mounted up and Dylan passed the girl to him while he hauled the kid up behind him on his steed and they headed to the guard station to pick up their new members.


    The captain was the one that greeted him and passed him a file with all the details he had from his investigations. Kyle was impressed by this captain of the guards and found out his name. He was called Tobias and he had served as a guard for this market for the last fifteen years and became a captain 3 years ago.


    His new members came out of the post looking down and depressed and having become slaves. This was worse than anything they had ever suffered before but it was better than dying they felt. They could only hope their new master wouldn''t order them to be bait for demon beasts as they had heard stories of this happening to noble''s slaves before.


    With everything sorted the newly enlarged group headed back to Kyle''s mansion with the former bandits jogging to keep up. When they eventually arrived back at the estate Kyle and Dylan returned their steeds to the stable and walked back to Kyle''s mansion while Dylan took the girl again and carried her all the way.


    When the bandits saw the mansion they thought maybe this wouldn''t be so bad and began to perk up. As they entered the mansion Kyle felt a cold chill when a voice sounded from nearby.


    "Who is she?"

 59 Chapter 59 Harem?

    "Who is she?"


    Kyle turned to the location the voice came from and saw Clara and Miranda standing there. Clara was the one who had spoken and was looking at Kyle like he had done something wrong while Miranda was pouting.


    They can''t be jealous we haven''t been together long enough for that thought Kyle so he just deluded himself into thinking they were just suspicious of the new arrivals, so Kyle turned to Dylan.


    "Can you take her to the infirmary, it''s the largest room in the east corridor. Also can you take the men along and send them to the kitchen I had better explain what''s going on. Hey kid go with your sister, I''ll be along in a little bit okay."


    Everyone followed their instructions and followed Dylan as he headed to the infirmary first. Kyle turned his attention back to Clara and Miranda.


    "It''s good to see you both getting along well. How has your day been did you do anything interesting?"


    When Kyle asked them about their day they both wanted to tell him about the things they had done but Clara stopped Miranda before she could begin speaking and instead reiterated her question.


    "Who are those new people?"


    "Well I had a busy day thank you. The men are bandits who attempted to attack the restraint I was having lunch in after visiting the array guild. I''m an array master now by the way, after defeating them I had them made into slaves. I also made contact with what will become our intelligence arm and on my way back I encountered the kid who tried to pickpocket me. I managed to avoid having my wallet stolen and decided to help him by healing his sister. Are we all caught up now?"


    Kyle decided it would be best to say everything as quickly as possible because he wanted to have a look at the girl''s state. He didn''t know how long she had been unconscious but she obviously hadn''t eaten for a while before she collapsed so he was worried about how long she could last.


    Clara and Miranda were just standing there with wide eyes on hearing what Kyle did during his day and just felt their day was much less eventful as all they had done was train, cultivate and help around the mansion.


    "Would you like to come with me I want to check on the girl, with the lack of food her and her brother survived on she must be weak."


    After dropping this on them Kyle began to head towards the infirmary while the girls followed while feeling guilty for holding him up when he was trying to help someone. When they entered the infirmary Kyle saw the girl laying on one of the beds with her brother sitting next to her. Dylan and the former bandits had already left for the kitchen.


    Kyle approached the bed and spoke to the kid.


    "It''ll be alright, can you stand with the girls over there as I will need to concentrate."


    Kyle indicated to Clara and Miranda. He didn''t think the kid would be a problem but as he hadn''t seen something like this before he wanted the kid to be controlled in case something happened. The kid didn''t think much about it as his sister would still be in sight while he stood with the girls so he stood up and went to stand between them.


    Once the kid was with the girls Kyle did his usual trick and extended his perception into the girl''s spirit realm.


    When his vision cleared Kyle was shocked by what he saw. The realm was devastated, but it wasn''t like the damage he had seen in the guards and in others where they had trained low level techniques. No this was new the land was broken and still breaking while purple and blue energy pulsed out of her channels and nodes, the sky was blasted with lightning coming from the ground and was breaking and reforming at an insane rate.


    This looked like the apocalypse, how was this girl even breathing while this was going on she should be dead no if, buts or maybes. It reminded Kyle of his realm when he first arrived in this universe and had to repair the damage caused by the overload of energy but this was far worse.


    Kyle needed to find the source of this damage but also why she was still holding together so he extended his senses to locate anything untoward in this realm. He went further than he had ever gone before and narrowed his search gradually until he reached the source of her main channel.


    The source is the point where the mana is extracted from the air and added to the channel making it a turbulent area within the spirit realm even at normal times. In this instance it resembled nothing less than a tornado as mana was being forcefully pulled in and blasted throughout the realm.


    Kyle felt this tornado was the most likely culprit for the damage but he also felt this was also what was keeping her alive. The best way to fully heal her without disrupting the balance of destruction and regeneration was to slowly lower the mana turbulence allowing her body time to adjust and repair itself as she had more than enough mana now. Thinking about her mana levels Kyle quickly sensed her channel and was amazed to see that not even he first gate was open.


    Given the amount of mana flowing through her the gate should be open but it was still sealed but it wasn''t by some poison or array. This was another question that would require answers but for now he returned his attention to the mana tornado and exerted his soul force on it beginning to slow its force.


    As the tornado began to inextricably slow the lightning and mana blasts began to decrease allowing the sky and land to begin healing. This would be a slow process unlike the healing the guards had undergone as that was just damage this was more akin to an auto immune response where the body was fighting itself.


    There was visible improvement as Kyle maintained his concentration, suddenly something happened which almost made Kyle drop a brick. From within the tornado a voice sounded out. The scary thing was Kyle knew this voice. It followed him from the chaos realm.


    "Hi big bro, I''m happy you found me. Can you help me fix this because I don''t know what I''m doing?"


    It was a childish voice that somehow echoed with an ancient feeling. It was the voice of one of the stooges that had followed behind him when he entered this universe.


    "I''m going to help the girl but why are you in her? Also where are the other two I saw?"


    "Oh when I saw what you did I thought it looked like fun so I found another shell. The others decided to look further afield so we could experience more variety."


    "Well that sort of makes sense but what do you mean shell?"


    "Oh when I found this meat suit the soul had already departed so I took it but I don''t know how to fix it. I maintained its functions using my strength but I don''t know how to make it work."


    This was like speaking to a precocious child, they knew how to run a computer but if it broke they wouldn''t know how to fix it. So for the next hour Kyle guided this outer god on the way to heal this body. It was happy as now it would have an experience it never had before.


    As they were speaking Kyle managed to find out why they had followed him in the first place. It was simply boredom, these monsters have existed since before reality and as powerful as they are there wasn''t anything to fill up the time. Also there was nothing strong enough to make them grow up so they were forever children.


    Kyle was different than them as they had their strength since they came to exist while Kyle gained his through force of will. He also found out that he had taken in a tiny amount of chaos energy into his soul. This wasn''t bad in fact it couldn''t be better as this energy had removed all limits that shackled him.


    This meant he would become more powerful than even these gods as he would strive to grow and become stronger, given enough time he would have no limit.


    Kyle felt sorry for these beings as they had nothing to aim for or protect. They would occasionally enter a material universe and become a source of worship or fear but due to their strength they would distort reality around them driving people insane.


    This time was different however as Kyle had shown them a way to interact with the material universe which had never occurred to them before, that being to take a body and truly experience life.


    "I need to return to my people, if you continue as I showed you I think you''ll recover pretty soon. When that happens would you like to stay with me so I can teach you how to be a human?"


    Kyle was afraid what would happen if an outer god was let loose on this world without any limit.


    "Oh that sounds perfect. Once I''ve fixed this I''ll absorb the memories left behind but they are fragmented."


    Kyle breathed a sigh of relief and bid the entity goodbye before exiting the spirit realm. Once Kyle moved away from the bed the other three in the room came over to him. The first to speak up was the kid.


    "Is my sister going to be okay?"


    He was really worried about his sister as she was his only family and the one who he loved the most. Kyle looked towards the kid and put his hand on his head.


    "She''ll be fine, it''ll take a couple of days before she''ll wake up but due to what she''s gone through her mind may be a little messed up and she may have forgotten some things."


    "Will she have forgotten me?"


    The kid asked as his lip quivered and tears began to gather in his eyes. Seeing this Kyle felt his heart go out to this kid, he didn''t deserve any of this.


    "It''ll be okay if she has forgotten anything you just need to be there to remind her and you are now one of us. We are a family and we look after our own."


    Hearing what Kyle said the kid''s tears finally burst and he rushed in and hugged a terrified Kyle who looked to the girls for help. For their part they also had tears in their eyes and when they saw Kyle seeking help they instead looked away leaving Kyle to deal with the kid.


    "Okay, okay there''s no need to cry. Why don''t we go and have some dinner and then you can come back and look after you sister how does that sound?"


    Kyle was trying his best to calm the kid down so he spoke in a soothing voice. When the kid heard dinner his stomach answered for him with a loud growl which made everyone laugh while the kid got a red face.


    The four headed to the kitchen while Kyle was thinking if there was any way he could get some food the girl could ingest in her current state. Currently here body was being sustained by the mana in her system but this would only last for a little while, but hopefully the outer god would be able to come out of danger before it became a real issue.


    As they entered the kitchen everyone greeted Kyle. The group was already sat around waiting for Kyle to arrive with the former bandits located with Dylan towards one end of the table with some guards mixed in. As they approached the table a coarse and loud voice unmistakably from Randall rang out.


    "Ho boy I heard you got another member for the harem."

 60 Chapter 60 Full metal Kyle

    "Ho boy I heard you got another member for the harem."


    When Randall said this Kyle could only put his head in his hands, was Randall trying to get him in trouble? Even though he had chosen to ignore Clara and Miranda''s jealousy at the new arrival it wasn''t that he was unaware of this.


    Randall began to laugh at his own joke while some of the men around him began to chuckle, the women however were not smiling as they knew how their daughters thought of Kyle. Gradually the chuckling died down and Randall was left alone as everyone gradually moved away from him to avoid becoming collateral damage.


    Ash and Zak began to pray for Randall, they liked him but he was like that friend who was fun on a night out but always did or said something which caused a fight. Randall began sweating as he felt multiple cold gazes directed at him and he could swear there was intent to kill mixed in. Before he could dig himself even deeper Nettie stepped in to save him, *smack* she used her usual skills and smacked him upside the head.


    "Don''t listen to this idiot, he''s just jealous because no woman would ever take him."


    Everyone began to laugh at this while Randall looked dejected so Zak, Ash and Dylan came over to him with a few jugs of beer to cheer him up. Kyle sat down and was flanked by Clara and Miranda while the Kid sat next to Clara. Kyle realised he had never asked the name of the kid and his sister as everything had progressed so fast.


    "Hey kid I never asked the name of you and your sister, why don''t you introduce yourself?"


    The kid looked up from the dishes that were laid out on the table which were making him salivate.


    "Oh sorry name right I''m Chad and my sister is called Elena. Nice to meet you all."


    Chad smiled shyly and everyone cheered, a few of the kids from the guard''s family came towards them and they all began to chat. As they were eating dinner everyone was chatting and mixing together barring Derek and the gang as they still didn''t know where they stood.


    When dinner was almost over Kyle began to speak to Miranda and Clara about their training and wanted to learn of how they were progressing.


    "So how are you girls getting on with your training, any problems or questions?"


    They both began thinking and Clara was the first to respond.


    "I''m getting on quite well it''s only the physical training which is hard but daddy explained the reasons for it. He also said about the higher level the technique can reach, will we have access to it?"


    When Clara asked this everyone at the table quieted down as they wanted to know this as well because of the insane properties his technique already had at the first level, what would happen at the later levels?


    "Well the guards and those bound to me via a slave or servant seal will receive the techniques as they are developed. Zak will also receive them as he gave me his oath but he won''t be able to freely give my technique out. I will train others if I think they are strong enough to resist questioning. It''s not that I don''t trust my people but I can''t risk trusting the people they know. Do you understand what I mean?"


    Everyone thought of what Kyle was saying and realised the truth of his words. To turn the suddenly dour mood around Miranda began to speak about her progress.


    "I''m doing really good, there wasn''t much cleaning or stuff to do today so I cultivated a bit more. I think it won''t be long till I''m able to progress."


    Hearing Miranda, Clara felt a little jealous. She trained with Miranda but just those extra couple of days of training had given her a head start so she knew she would need to train harder to catch up. Kyle was interested and wanted to see how far Miranda had progressed.


    "Miranda is it okay if I check your spirit realm again?"


    Kyle had no problem using his abilities against enemies or if he had to in order to heal like what he did with the guards and Elena but he decided he needed to set limits, so he would ask for permission in regards to his people from now on as it may seem invasive to them.


    "No problem you can do anything you want."


    Hearing her words Liam her father suddenly had a coughing fit while her mother Iris rubbed his back while trying to console him.


    "It''s alright dear but they do grow up quick don''t they."


    Everyone on their side of the table began coughing when they heard her words and the same thought came from everyone ''you do realise they''re eight''. Nobody spoke their mind however as who wants to get in the middle of this domestic disaster.


    Derek and his crew were getting more confused and uncomfortable during this. These people didn''t act like a noble and his staff. Hell Kyle even sat, ate and laughed with them with no distinction or airs and graces. They just didn''t know how to interact with these people.


    Kyle chose to ignore all the chaos that had descended this time as he felt maybe those Japanese protagonists had it right by being oblivious to everything that came their way. Kyle focused and saw Miranda''s progress.


    Her nodes had reached the self clearing level while her main channel had enough mana contained for a standard breakthrough. Kyle wanted her to have more mana so she had a better chance of a perfect breakthrough so coming out he spoke to her.


    "Miranda can you hold of breaking through, if you can cultivate through the night you should have a high enough level of mana in the morning so we can try then. Is that okay with you?"


    "No problem I''ll get it done and show you what I can do."


    As she said this she gave a little fist pump to show her energy which made Kyle smile at her. Kyle then looked to Bruno who was sat opposite with his parents. Bruno had been speaking with them as he hadn''t seen them much in the last few months due to his previous training so this was a good time for the little family.


    "Bruno I would also like to check your progress as well, is that okay?"


    "Of course bro no problem."


    Bruno was having the time of his life in the last few days, everything was new and different. With his new training he could feel his strength growing and changing and with his folks coming to see him in the morning and evening he didn''t miss them, plus they would be moving in before long.


    Kyle checked over Bruno and did not find anything untoward or out of place. His node clearance was slower than Miranda but as he suspected it seemed to be due to the fact that some of his mana was leaking into the next level.


    Once everyone was finished Kyle asked Clara to look after little Chad while he went to his office to speak to Derek and his crew. Kyle sat behind his desk while the men stood in front waiting for him to speak.


    "Okay gentlemen first off I don''t want to know your names. I will call you by number instead Derek will be one and the rest of you will be numbered up to eleven. One will assign your numbers later, you no longer have name. Those names must be earned, you will train with the guards during the day for the next week. Once you have been trained with the guards you will take station at the Sparrow brothel while removing your former colleagues."


    Kyle paused to make sure the men were paying attention before he continued.


    "From these colleagues you can select those who are not truly evil but you will delete murderers and rapists. Don''t try to lie to me as your seals and my abilities will prevent this. The ones you have selected will be contained within the slave pits in the brothel and once a week I will come and seal them myself. These people will become part of you and they will be assigned numbers like you are. Your training will also continue while you train these new members. I intend to take control of the underworld so if you need to talk with regards to me you will refer to me as zero. Now I will adjust your seals making them more effective."


    After he said this Kyle began to project seals one after the other. These were multi glyph arrays which would allow more flexibility in his control and instructions. The men could only stand there as their seals were updated. The only consolation they had was that Kyle seemed to have long term plans for them.


    "Go and see Zak, he''s waiting for you in the kitchen and he''ll assign rooms to you. We begin your hell tomorrow."


    As he watched the men leave Kyle had a final thought.


    "Also as you have no names you are no more than shadows so your group will be called ''Shadow Hand'' understood."


    The men nodded before heading out leaving Kyle alone. After the door closed Kyle spoke to himself.


    "Phew I think I need to learn how to be a drill sergeant."

 61 Chapter 61 Working past bedtime

    "Phew I think I need to learn how to be a drill sergeant."


    Kyle wasn''t suited for this life of leadership but he didn''t have a choice now so he would do the best he could. Taking a moment to calm himself, Kyle got organised before he headed to the infirmary to check on Chad.


    When he arrived he saw a freshly showered Chad sitting on a chair next to his sister. It looked like Clara made him have a shower in the infirmary bathroom before she headed to bed.


    "Hi Chad how are you doing?"


    "I''m doing okay sir, I''m happy you can help my sister."


    "Okay kid don''t stay up to late, you won''t do your sister any good if you get ill okay?"


    "Yes sir I''ll just stay up a little while longer to keep her company."


    Kyle''s heart went out to the kid so he ruffled his hair a little before he left. Before he rested Kyle had one more place to visit. He was heading to the formation chamber. Even though he could connect from anywhere within the mansion it felt different if he was in the chamber. Kyle assumed this feeling was because he was closer to the source and allowed him to connect at a deeper level.


    As he walked through the mansion he could hear people in some of the lounges chatting amongst themselves. Hearing these signs of life and friendship Kyle was assailed by a sudden feeling of loneliness. Regardless of how he connected to these people he would always be separate.


    This melancholy wasn''t like him so he shook it off and carried on with a new pep in his step in an attempt to assuage this feeling. When he reached the first basement level Kyle was immediately impressed with the progress Randall and his team had made.


    There were weapons and armour strewn around in various levels of completion and at different levels of skill but there was a high level of progression in style. In a matter of weeks the weapons would be in a state that they could be sold.


    Continuing to the chamber Kyle approached the mana crystal which grew in luminescence as he approached. This was like a welcome to him like the feeling the mansion gave when he returned. Placing his hand on the crystal Kyle dove in.


    He was going to try and communicate directly with the crystal as he could swear it was aware and getting smarter by the minute. He didn''t fear that the mansion would suddenly turn on him as his mana was embedded throughout and within all the arrays and also inside the crystal, so he felt a deep connection with it.


    Looking within the crystal Kyle could see the number of arrays was far more than last time and they were changing from second to second. The main difference on these arrays was some were made up of multi glyph arrays. This must have been what the mana crystal was doing when it was breaking down the array he sent into it previously.


    Kyle didn''t have the time to analyse what was happening so instead he approached the core of the crystal and passed within and once again saw the illusion of the mansion. The arrays within had also changed, becoming more complex or more complete Kyle couldn''t tell as there were now several multi arrays present.


    Once Kyle was close to the centre he used his soul force to call out to the crystal. This wasn''t done in words it was more akin to a desire. He wanted to speak to the force that had begun to guide the mansion.


    For a few moments there was no response, but gradually the mists of mana that floated around began to coalesce and take on a humanoid shape. As this shape was taking form Kyle managed to pick up a feeling from it. It wasn''t strong more like a whisper but it was there and it was more precise than the feeling he sometimes received.


    This feeling showed curiosity and a desire to help. The desire to help Kyle was the overriding feeling the figure gave off. This was a strange experience even more so than dying but slightly less than when he passed through the chaos realm.


    Kyle responded to the figure by projecting his soul force, this wasn''t in the form of an array rather he created a picture of the broken crystal and the altar along with the 2 spheres from the broken mansion. Kyle was hoping the figure would be able to at least give him an idea of what these were for.


    The figure looked at the images and Kyle could feel the figure was projecting a sense of loss and regret, but beneath this was a strange feeling of pride. Kyle was struggling with this mix of feelings. How could this form have feelings like this, Kyle decided it would be best if he treated this being like a pet for now. It didn''t seem to operate at a high level of though like a human but it could follow instructions and would defend him when needed and it could obviously feel emotions.


    Watching the figure as it tried to organise its emotions Kyle moved closer and put his hand on its shoulder and just let his soul flow out with a sense of comfort and care. The figure turned and appeared to look at Kyle but as it had no eyes he was just assuming. It raised its hand and put it over Kyle''s.


    Once it was ready it used the mana to create an image for Kyle to see. It showed a shadowy figure placing one of the spheres in the depression on the altar and Kyle got the sense this action would lead to some kind of connection or link. This was based on a feeling and these abstract ideas didn''t seem fit fully but it was the best he had.


    Once the figure had placed the sphere the image shifted again, this time it showed the destroyed formation chamber. This time the figure was shown collecting all of the broken parts of the golden ring which surrounded the mana crystal and placed a small crystal shard on top.


    Once the figure completed its actions the image broke down leaving Kyle and the figure standing alone. The figure was looking at Kyle and was releasing a feeling of hope and expectation. Kyle didn''t know what would happen but he decided to trust this strange being and would do as it seemed to be requesting.


    Nodding his head Kyle sent out a feeling to the figure indicating he would do as it wanted which elicited a sense of joy from it. Before he left Kyle gave the crystal mansion a once over to see if there were any changes and he was happy to see that the defensive glyphs had be strengthened beyond what they were previously.


    This mansion was truly a bastion, Kyle didn''t know if anyone would ever be able to breach it as it stood. Kyle sent his feeling of gratitude to the figure which only tilted it head and sent back a feeling of confusion, obviously not understanding why it was being thanked.


    Kyle responded with his desire to protect those in his home making the figure understand his intent. Kyle left the crystal but as he was leaving he heard a soft clink, a small shard had fallen from his crystal. Kyle picked up the crystal and say it looked a lot like the one in the image the figure had shown him. Pocketing the crystal Kyle left the chamber and returned to his bedroom.


    He cultivated for a little while so that he would be ready if anyone wanted to attack. He was pleased to note his mana was continuing to increase at a good rate and his level 1 nodes were almost clear.


    Kyle began to run through the things he would need to do as this was what he usually did before he slept so he would have an idea of what he was going to be doing the following day.


    Firstly was helping Miranda breakthrough, if he could prove his conjecture that cultivation required accumulation instead of pushing through as soon as possible it would give him an advantage.


    Secondly if Miranda was successful he needed to see if those who had already broken through could have a secondary breakthrough. This would be for Ash, as amongst his people ash had the highest cultivation so he had the most mana on hand.


    Third was to train his ''shadow hand'' they would be training harder than anyone as he needed these guys up to spec ASAP.


    Fourth was getting the information about the mansion ruins. If he could get his hands on this he would immediately do as the crystal wanted and place the crystal and sphere as indicated.


    Finally if he had time he wanted to visit Bruno''s parents and look over their building to see what measures he needed to implement to ensure their safety.


    "Man I''m gonna need a holiday before the weeks over."

 62 Chapter 62 Dylan strikes again

    "Man I''m gonna need a holiday before the weeks over."


    Kyle went and had a shower before going to bed, if he had time he might go and see the Black family. He was curious to see what this tool they had found was about and why they were so desperate to have someone fix it, to the point they had even put a general advert in the array guild rather than contracting someone privately. But this could wait and finally Kyle let sleep take him.


    The following morning dragged himself out of bed at first light and jumped in the shower to give him a wake up before he brushed his teeth and finished dressing. This morning was different as Miranda wasn''t waiting for him instead Clara was standing outside his door.


    "Hi Clara were you waiting for me?" Kyle asked curiously.


    "Yes sir, Miranda was practicing through the night and isn''t ready yet so I said I would serve you while she gets ready."


    Kyle didn''t worry about this as Miranda was just doing as he had instructed so he headed to the entrance to await his new arrivals. He wanted to make a good impression on his slaves as they didn''t appear to be in the best of condition regardless of how Lady Sparrow had treated them.


    Kyle barely had a chance to sit down before his slaves arrived, they were accompanied by two people one was Faye and the other was wearing a brown robe which fully covered them and hid their face.


    Kyle just used the mansions senses and was able to discern who this new arrival was. It was no none other than Lady Sparrow herself. Kyle smiled at this as it appeared he''d made more of an impression than he first thought and she had taken him up on his offer to visit him.


    As before the doors opened at Kyle''s will with no one near them which made the girls fearful of this strange place. Faye and Lady Sparrow were unperturbed however as they knew Kyle was special so of course his home would be different as well.


    When the group had all entered the doors closed quietly behind them which made most of the girls huddle together. Kyle approached them and greeted the sisters with a mischievous grin.


    "Good morning Faye and good morning Lady Sparrow."


    Bowing slightly Kyle was happy to see the surprised and concerned look on Faye''s face while Lady Sparrow dropped the hood of her robe while she was pouting slightly.


    "How did you know it was me?" It appeared she wanted to shock or surprise Kyle with her sudden appearance but he had ruined the surprise.


    "You really shouldn''t underestimate me."


    Kyle spoke simply but it was the truth, currently he had several cards he could pull and as time went on his advantages would only increase. Lady Sparrow took his words to heart and promised herself never to underestimate this young man.


    "Well ladies welcome to your new home. I''m Kyle and will be your owner from now on, if you would follow me well get some breakfast in you and then you''ll be joining the rest of the household in our training. Faye, Lady Sparrow you''ll be joining us as well of course. I do need to introduce you to the others."


    Kyle wasn''t really asking so they none of them had any way to refuse even the sisters, not that they would have refused anyway as this was why they had come in the first place. They wanted to see what Kyle could bring which would help them if they needed it.


    As they made their way through the mansion Kyle acted like a tour guide, pointing out certain facilities and interesting points around the mansion. This shocked everyone as the facilities here were beyond anything they had seen before.


    Kyle was happy to show them around as this was the first time he had been able to show off his home since he had unlocked some of its secrets. Kyle took a roundabout route to show off more and also so he could stop at the infirmary to check on Chad and Elena.


    When Kyle entered he saw Chad was up and dressed. He appeared to have only been up for a little while but when he saw Kyle he ran over to him and hugged him.


    "Hi big brother did you come to see me?"


    Chad had got attached to Kyle really quickly. He must have been starved for attention since his parents passed and after having to try and save his sister he had been pushed to the brink. Suddenly Kyle had appeared and pulled him out of the mire so he had taken him as part of his family. Particularly with the way Kyle spoke of everyone in the household as extended family.


    "Yep just wanted to check up on you and see if you wanted to get breakfast together."


    Chad nodded quickly before rushing back to his sister and whispered something in her ear before coming back over to Kyle. When Chad returned the group left the infirmary and headed to the kitchen.


    Clara was stood near the slave and was answering questions as the girls had them, mostly this was related to what their duties may be and what would be expected of them. However when they saw Kyle speaking to this kid who looked like a street urchin just a freshly washed one they asked Clara what was happening.


    "Um excuse me miss but who is that child hanging onto the master?"


    "Oh his name is Chad, master Kyle picked him up from the street yesterday. He''s curing the boy''s sister and has kind of adopted him."


    The girls were surprised hearing this and began whispering to themselves. Faye heard this as well and was also shocked, she looked to her sister but couldn''t glean anything from her expression so instead she looked to Kyle and Chad who was now swinging of Kyle''s arm like a little monkey which drew a giggle from her.


    When they finally arrived at the kitchen the preparation was in full swing with the full crew there even Landon and Maria with Shauna and Isaiah. This looked like it would be a daily thing now with everyone working together.


    When they walked in everyone greeted Kyle and Clara. Kyle introduced everyone to their new arrivals before he rolled up his sleeves and jumped in with everyone else. The slaves joined in as well as they could but some of them had no experience doing things like this.


    Everyone was very forgiving and soon they began to relax, the strangest view however was the elegant lady sparrow mixing eggs and dunking bread in the mixture with a happy face. She had never had a chance to do things like this while being surrounded by such a happy crowd, she could finally let her mask slip if only a little.


    The ''shadow hand'' was also present, they were a bit weirded out by the whole situation. Weren''t they going to be fodder, why were they included? Kyle could see they were confused so after he gave them the stick last night he decided it was time for the carrot. Kyle called them over as someone took over from him for a minute.


    "Look none of my people are expendable. Regardless of how it happened you are mine now and that means you are part of the family so grad some plates and start laying the table."


    Finished with what he wanted to say he returned to his job while the ''shadow hand'' began to carry out their task while hoping that maybe this wouldn''t be a bad situation.


    A few of the new slaves heard what Kyle had said and also had the same hope growing within them. Out of everyone here there was one who wasn''t moved or maybe it was more accurate to say she didn''t care. This was the burned girl, she had built up walls around her heart and mind since her injury and betrayal by her master.


    Miranda arrived shortly after Kyle and rushed over to him.


    "I''m sorry I''m late sir." She spoke while hanging her head down which made a couple of people giggle to the side, including her parents.


    "Its fine Miranda you were only doing as I asked. Can I check your progress?"


    Miranda nodded and Kyle inspected her cultivation. The new arrivals were confused but they would learn shortly. Kyle was pleased as Miranda was ready, her nodes were clear and had begun their strengthening and her mana was brimming.


    "Miranda did you feel anything during your training, I''ve spoken to you about the nodes and I need to know if there is a sign when they clear and also how does your mana feel?"


    Kyle needed to know if there were indications of when the nodes were clear and also how the mana in her body felt now that there should be enough for a full breakthrough.


    "Well last night I did feel something. Really late I suddenly felt a rush of warmth flow through the points you get me to circulate on, once I felt it, it didn''t fully leave. My mana has a tingle to it I haven''t felt before it''s like the air before lightning strikes you know?"


    Kyle nodded at what Miranda had said. Even though he didn''t feel the tingle this was probably due to the way he broke through but the flow of warmth did ring true so these were probably good indicators but he would still need a larger sample of people to confirm.


    "Okay that''s good it looks like we are ready for you to breakthrough but first we should have breakfast and do one more training session before you breakthrough so you''re in top form."


    Miranda nodded and was happy she would be able to progress this quickly. Everyone gave her some early congratulations before everyone sat down to eat.


    While everyone was eating Maria spoke to Lady Sparrow as she was at a similar age and had a refined air to her which was making it hard for others to talk to her.


    "So how do you know my son?"


    Dylan was sat a few chairs down and on hearing Maria''s question piped up as Lady Sparrow seemed to be struggling on how to respond.


    "Oh she''s the owner of the brothel we went to yesterday."

 63 Chapter 63 From boy to man

    "Oh she''s the owner of the brothel we went to yesterday."


    ''Oh god not again'' was Kyle''s thought to this proud statement Dylan had said. Looking around he could see several different reactions. A lot of the men had a proud look on their faces while nodding towards Kyle. His father was included in this while his face said ''look my boys already a man''.


    A lot of the women were looking at Dylan with disbelieving faces, how could a child enjoy the services provided at a brothel and would they serve them. They were confused however as Lady Sparrow was here and she didn''t deny anything adding to the general confusion and chaos.


    The final group was much smaller than the others and included Shauna, Miranda, Clara and Maria while Faye was just trying to make herself as small as possible.


    "My dear son do you have anything you want to tell us?" Maria asked with a smile which wasn''t a smile. While she may be innocent in regards to some relationships she did know about brothels and what they catered for.


    "Yes mother I will explain but first, DYLAN CAN YOU NOT SAY THINGS LIKE THAT TO MY MOTHER."


    Dylan was surprised that he got shouted at and looked at everyone else who was now staring at him. He began to replay what he''d said in his head and couldn''t find anything false in what he said.


    "What''s wrong Kyle we did visit there yesterday?"


    "Yes for a specific purpose not to use the services."


    With a dawning look of horror on his face Dylan realised why he was now on the spot and began to panic.


    "NONONONONO I didn''t mean it like that I mean we did go to the slave sale but only after we did our business."


    This was going from bad to worse. As Dylan was panicking he was digging a worse hole than he had already done. Dylan was a good and honest man but his straightforward and literal thinking had caused him problems before but no one could hate him it, he was just a little nice but dim sometimes.


    "Dylan stop I will explain what we were doing there once everyone has dispersed is that okay mom, dad?"


    They both nodded as they could see Kyle was serious this time. It probably had something to do with his plans so he didn''t want to say too much as not everyone had a seal to prevent the spread of sensitive information.


    Seeing Kyle clam up a few people wanted to tease him as this wasn''t a chance they had every day but they were stopped by Zak who cleared his throat. He stood up and everyone became quiet as he was now the manager everyone went to him with issues which had led to a joint decision last night after Kyle had left them.


    "Excuse me Lord Kyle but I have been delegated as the representative of your production and household crew is that okay with you."


    As they really weren''t allowed to form a guild or union as they were just helpers who were taken in by the Powell family this was something new. Landon wanted to know what was going to happen so he sat back and wanted to see how this would play out.


    Kyle nodded to Zak and indicated he should carry on. There had to be a reason they needed a representative and as Zak had given him his oath Kyle felt he could trust him.


    "Well sir we were speaking last night as to why you had placed a servant seal on the guards and how it works. We then got onto why you hadn''t placed a seal on everyone and I explained it was due to the fact that it wasn''t needed and you would give techniques and resources as required."


    "Yes correct so far, also if everyone knows you have limited access to my techniques and those who have higher access are sealed there will be no reason to attack you. It isn''t perfect but it will give you all a certain amount of protection."


    "Well that''s the thing sir, nobody wants protection so last night everyone unanimously voted to take a servant seal so we can properly follow and support you."


    When Zak said this all the unsealed members including the children stood up and gave the new salute Kyle had shown them by placing their right fist above their heart.


    Kyle was shocked by this looking around he saw Maria and Landon were both amazed. These people were voluntarily submitting themselves to have a seal placed on them. The ones who were the most surprised were the new additions however.


    Who wanted to be sealed it was a sign of ownership but here everyone wanted it. What was with their new owner? The ''shadow hand'' was also hoping for a chance now as they saw these people, maybe they could be more than they had been before.


    Kyle couldn''t help but smile at his people, they would go this far for him. He still didn''t realise this trust and faith was aided by a passive energy his soul exuded. It gave people he saw as friends and family a sense of belonging. It was still to be seen if the reverse was also true as Kyle hadn''t been truly angry yet.


    He didn''t hang around so as soon as everyone was finished he cast a seal on those present, so the only one who was unsealed was Chad. Kyle told him he should wait until his sister recovered before he decided.


    Once everything was settled everyone trooped out to the training areas and began their daily training. As before the guards would train most of the day while the non-combatants would only train for 2 hours. Included with the guards were the new arrivals and the ''shadow hand''.


    As the training was progressing Kyle also began selecting people to use the new training facilities. The pressure room was very good for physical training while the sparring ring with its protection and healing arrays was a big hit.


    Kyle had a whale of a time demonstrating its abilities and the fact you wouldn''t be truly hurt and would just feel a certain amount of pain. Of course his training partner was Dylan who learned a lesson that day ''don''t tell Kyle''s mom stuff''.


    On one of their breaks Kyle took his parents aside to discuss with them his reason for visiting the brothel and why the madam and her assistant were now his servants.


    "Well simply put I made a deal, currently we are in an unknown situation with unknown enemies due to lack of information. However you may dislike prostitutes can get a lot of information from their clients. So Lady Sparrow is going to head up my intelligence division with backup from the former bandits, they''ve been named ''shadow hand'' and will take control of the criminal underworld in our city."


    Kyle wanted his team to be the best but he also knew people needed to specialise so his guards would be similar to infantry while the ''shadow hand'' would be more like the CIA in that they would operate covertly appearing as another gang until they had fully seized control.


    Finally Kyle had the new additions. The ladies were to be his final defence and also he wanted them to operate in the shadows. They would be his spies and assassins as the need arose. This would take time to establish but now one group would be stronger than the other they would just deal with different operations.


    Landon and Maria could see the utility of this operation so didn''t make it difficult for Kyle except when his mother leaned down and spoke quietly in his ear.


    "Well dear when the time comes you shouldn''t need to visit such an establishment as there seems to be a few young ladies willing to fill that spot for you."


    She looked pointedly to Clara and Miranda who were watching them from the distance. Kyle began to blush furiously before he almost ran from his mother while he tried to find Dylan to train with him a little more.


    Once the training was over everyone dispersed to do their duties. While the new girls would be maids on paper, there really wasn''t a need for them as the mansion largely cleaned itself. The only real jobs were washing clothes and preparing food. Everyone was expected to maintain their rooms to a certain degree. So instead they carried on training with the new technique they were shown earlier.


    Kyle went to the burned girl and wanted to check how well the technique could deal with her injuries.


    "Do you mind if I inspect your injuries?"


    The girl looked towards him but didn''t respond so Kyle took this as permission and lifted her hand. The skin was cracked and hard but the out scarring was beginning to loosen. Kyle checked where the scar tissue returned to normal skin and could see new skin was beginning to appear underneath as the scarring was starting to lift at the edges.


    "Excellent if you have any questions or if you notice anything strange just let me know."


    Kyle didn''t want to say anything about the healing properties of his technique just in case she couldn''t be fully healed. Kyle had also checked on the one armed guard. Within his spirit realm the phantom landscape was gaining more definition and looked like glass rather than mist and it seemed to be filling in faster now.


    Again Kyle didn''t say anything because he didn''t know how far the healing would go but he did have hope for these poor people.


    Finished with his rounds Kyle finally got to Miranda. She was sitting with Clara and Bruno who wanted to see this breakthrough as Kyle had been on about it for a while now. Bruno was the first to speak.


    "Well it''s about damn time."

 64 Chapter 64 Breakthrough or a breakdown

    "Well it''s about damn time."


    Hearing Bruno Kyle looked at him and could swear he could see a shadow of him in a few years chewing on a cigar looking like a human hulk. Shaking off this weird image Kyle returned his attention to Miranda.


    As this was the first time he was guiding someone else in doing this Kyle wanted everything to go perfectly. He had Bruno and Clara stand at a distance of about 10 feet away so they weren''t crowding Miranda and they would be able to prevent anyone from accidentally wondering to close.


    This may have been an unnecessary worry as everyone was aware of what was going on so rather than carry on with their duties or training everyone was standing in the surrounding area watching what was going to happen.


    Kyle had Miranda sit on a blanket he had laid out on the ground while he sat in front of her. What he was doing seemed almost ritualistic but it was more so that in Miranda''s mind she realised how important this was.


    Once everything was prepared Kyle spoke to Miranda.


    "Okay Miranda I''m going to dive into your spirit realm to keep a check on what''s happening to you. I''ll only help if I think there is a need, while I don''t foresee any problems this is a different form of progress than most people follow. Now do you have any questions before we begin?"


    "No sir we can start whenever."


    "Okay now I need you to pay attention to all sensations and feelings you have during this process, anything may be helpful so don''t dismiss anything. Firstly I want you to compress your mana as tightly as you can, pull in as much as you consciously can from your body as well. It should be located here."


    Kyle indicated somewhere close to Miranda''s heart. Although the spirit realm was not physically present in the body, there was still a connection so by indicating a specific area relative to the area where mana entered the channel would help in focusing.


    Miranda nodded indicating her understanding before she closed her eyes and began concentrating. Kyle looked over her shoulder and could see Liam and Iris standing there looking a little concerned but not worried. Even if they trusted Kyle and believed he wouldn''t do anything to hurt their daughter, she was still their little girl so they would still be concerned when she did something they hadn''t done themselves.


    Kyle dove into her spirit realm to check on how she was doing. The mana in her channel was gradually being force into a smaller and smaller area which was increasing the pressure on her while more mana was being drawn from her nodes. This was similar to what happened during Kyle''s breakthrough but this was much gentler as she didn''t have the same issues as Kyle did.


    On the outside everyone was watching in silence. They could see Miranda had begun to sweat from the strain and her face was scrunched up from the slight pain she was feeling. Everyone was rooting for her as they had seen how this young girl had been training and she had become the little princess of the mansion. Even if she was a commoner everyone felt she had the best chance of being married to Kyle later in life.


    Bruno was particularly worried as he had spent more time with Miranda and Kyle than the rest and he saw them as more than friends instead he felt they were his siblings. As he was fretting he felt a hand on his shoulder.


    Looking over he saw his mother, his father had to leave to open the shop but his mother had hung around to see what would happen and seeing his worry she came over to offer her support. Clara was in a similar state when her parents came over and gave her their support.


    It was arguably worse for Clara as she was aware that if this worked her father would be up next and there were more variables to her father''s progress. Kyle had been totally open about what he was planning and the fact it was untried beyond what he had done to himself.


    Back in the spirit realm Kyle was watching as the mana in Miranda''s channel began to change slightly and began to take on a slightly different colour than the previous glistening mist. It took on a slight blue hue, which Kyle''s mana didn''t. This could lead to a whole new area of study because if the nature of mana was different between people or could be changed under certain stimulus it may answer some questions with regards to natural proficiency.


    This was a point for another time however, Kyle decided now would be the best time to attempt to breakthrough. Kyle used his soul force and projected a command to Miranda, it was simple and only used one word.


    ''Now!''


    At Kyle''s command Miranda unleashed all the compressed mana which blasted out like water from a water cannon. This blast of mana flowed along the channel at a ridiculous rate while more mana was being pulled in like a vacuum.


    On the outside the people who were watching suddenly saw Miranda''s face relax when a sudden gust of wind occurred. The wind was blowing through from behind everyone, even though they were stood in a loose circle around the pair. This was the mana being drawn in and adding to what was already in Miranda''s channel.


    All the more experienced members were shocked by this as mana shouldn''t be able to physically interact with the real world until it was converted by spells or skills. But here and now was something showing them it could which changed their perspective on what they knew.


    Landon and Maria were still present and as the highest rated people here they knew this was bigger than what the others believed. This changed a fundamental facet of their understanding with just one breakthrough everything was different. How does the world work and what part does mana have in it?


    Kyle was still monitoring Miranda and as the wave of mana was approaching her bottleneck he couldn''t help but cross his fingers and hope for the best. He could do nothing now to help or hinder this process, he could only wait and watch.


    The mana was fast approaching and had even begun to speed up, until *bang* it slammed into the gate which represented the bottleneck. Unlike what happened with Kyle it didn''t take multiple hit''s to break open this path, instead the gate burst open all the way. Once the gate was fully open it simply dissolved.


    ''Success'' Kyle was happy and began to look for any changes or damage. Like what happened with him, once the gate was open the mana began to flow back and all of it changed to the denser and higher quality first level mana. The only difference he could discern was the banks of her channel dipped in a bit where the gate was previously but this blockage had already begun to shrink back and in a little while it would be totally gone.


    Kyle pulled back from Miranda''s spirit realm and looked at the young girl. She was still cultivating at the moment as her mana reserve felt rather low now but this was simply because when she levelled up the mana was compressed and now filled a channel 3 times longer than previously. It would take a little while for her to get used to this new feeling but she was now much more powerful.


    She woke up shortly and seeing Kyle standing there smiling at her couldn''t help but stand up and hug him. What greeted her after that was some wolf whistles from the crowd and a certain family member shouting out.


    "You go girl get him now."


    This made her go really red and she let go of Kyle before retreating several steps. Kyle didn''t worry about it but instead began to check on her and get some details about the process and feeling of the breakthrough. Trying to marry it up with what he felt when he progressed.


    It was largely the same, pain when they compressed the mana down and when it was blasted out it caused a suction which drained the mana from the nodes. As the nodes emptied mana was drawn from the atmosphere through the sub-nodes. Even though Miranda''s sub-nodes weren''t fully clear yet this didn''t impede the mana flow.


    Kyle checked her sub-nodes and found they were now completely clear. It appeared the influx of mana at her breakthrough had cleared them without having to wait. Kyle was happy with this and was now ready to try helping Ash clear his first gate. As he looked around for Ash, Kyle saw Dylan was still present.


    "Dylan I thought you were going to see about the ruin after training?"


    "Sir I''ll go right away."


    With that Dylan sprinted out of the mansion without even looking back. Kyle began to feel a little guilty when Ash came up to him and said something which made him feel even worse.


    "I think you broke him."

 65 Chapter 65 Almighty Ash

    "I think you broke him."


    "Well I''m sure he''ll be fine....maybe?"


    Kyle was feeling more and more guilty for how he used Dylan as his training dummy but what''s done is done so moving on. Kyle looked at Ash who was watching him as he knew that he was next up.


    "Okay Ash same procedure as Miranda sit, focus and I''ll need to watch your spirit realm you don''t have any issues with that I assume?"


    "No problem what so ever plus you''ve already seen it before so why would I worry about it now."


    Everyone''s interest peaked again as they were watching Ash and Kyle. Everyone cared about the others but if this is successful it would directly impact on their future prospects. Altruistic or not everyone would put themselves first if it wasn''t a life or death scenario as it has been shown so many times in the face of true adversity people will drop any hate for each other and band together.


    Kyle had thought of this aspect to people before, he had a theory that the way humans treated each other was similar to how siblings fight. It can be as vicious and brutal as any war or genocide but the moment someone or something else tries to get involved, well just watch out because you''re likely to get your balls handed to you in a basket.


    Anyway that''s just one theory. Kyle dismissed these silly ideas and instead focused on Ash. When he dove in he could see Ash''s channel was much wider than Miranda''s and because of his longer time cultivating even if it was a lower grade technique, his nodes were already cleared and strengthened to a greater degree than Miranda''s.


    This was the advantage of accumulation, due to the long time of continuous training Ash''s body had strengthened due to the presence of mana within it. This wasn''t the directed and controlled means they were using now but it still had an effect.


    Ash began to follow what Miranda had done and began to compress his mana down into as small an area as possible. Within his soul realm Kyle could see the flow was being reversed with mana gradually being drawn back.


    Suddenly there was a change within the flow and mana began to be pulled back from past the first gate. This mana was of a higher form than the rest and as happened when Kyle had opened his first gate, the inclusion of this mana had an effect on the mana already present.


    This reaction seemed to be putting pressure on Ash''s channel and was forcefully widening it. When Kyle saw this he used his soul force to contain this new mana form, protecting Ash''s channel and preventing damage occurring.


    On the outside people saw Ash struggling. He had veins popping out on his arms and on his neck and blood began to flow from his nose. Clara and Lauren began to panic and wanted to rush to Ash. They were stopped by the others present however and Maria was the one who came and spoke to them.


    "Do you trust Kyle?" Maria asked them this while looking straight at them.


    Clara and Lauren looked at Ash who was still obviously in pain before Clara spoke up.


    "Yes I trust Kyle."


    Lauren hugged her daughter tightly before she also spoke.


    "Yes I trust him as well."


    "Well give him a chance, even though it looks painful he has still maintained his calm so it isn''t beyond his tolerance. Trust in Kyle I know he won''t fail."


    As Maria spoke she calmed the mother and daughter duo down while showing the blind faith she had in her son. Everyone was watching from the sidelines and were thinking to themselves if would be able to accept this risk themselves and they all came to the same answer. The answer was a resounding YES. This was a chance to be more than they were and to step past being just a servant or a slave and instead be the foundation for something better.


    The ''shadow hand'' were the most affected by this as they had lived as bandits without any real backing or a place to return to and now they found this place they would fight for it, not like they had much of a choice but there was a big difference between choosing to serve and being forced to.


    Back with Kyle he was exerting a massive amount of soul force and mana to contain the mana within Ash''s channel as more was flowing back from the next area so Kyle was using level 1 mana to contain level 2 mana. While Kyle was struggling he was also quite happy as the pressure from this action was merging his soul force into his mana and they were now twinning together making both stronger.


    Kyle was only able to merge a tiny portion of his soul force with his mana but he could feel the strength of his mana was beginning to reach beyond his level so theoretically he could fight above his level even at later levels.


    Even if Kyle didn''t know what advantages a stronger soul force would bring to others he decided to find out if it could be trained more easily than how his mother was training using array projection.


    Gradually the flow of mana into Ash''s channel began to slow down and he began to draw mana from his nodes and finally through his sub-nodes which meant it was now time to give it a go. Before he released the mana Kyle looked at the mana stored in the channel and saw this mana was taking on a red hue unlike Miranda''s blue so there was something special with different people.


    Kyle''s mana had remained bright white almost silvery in its appearance so this was something to look into. But regardless it was now time to release the beast.


    ''Now'' the command went out and Ash with a great sense of relief released his control allowing his mana to blast through aiming for the now pitiful gate which was going to suffer.


    On the outside the effect of the breakthrough was even more pronounced than with Miranda with a strong wind blasting in which knocked a few people off their feet and Clara was clinging to Lauren to prevent herself from being knocked away.


    Landon was watching all this happening and decided to speak to Kyle when he was finished as he hoped he could further open his gates like what Kyle''s people were doing.


    When Ash released his mana all the pressure was released from his body allowing his veins to return to their normal state which relieved Lauren as she didn''t know what she would do if anything happened to Ash. Maria was standing next to her and put her hand on her shoulder. She knew what Lauren was feeling because if anything happened to her Landon she would be equally lost.


    Ash''s mana continued it tsunami rush to the gate and like what happened with Kyle when the mana hit the gate it didn''t open it, no. It obliterated it and continued on its course, when it hit the next gate it didn''t have enough force to fully open it but it did manage to open it further allowing the next level to gain more mana.


    Until they caught up with Ash''s level it looked like this would continue but this wasn''t a bad thing as it would give his body a chance to strengthen up for the next push but Kyle would wait at each level until all the nodes were clear to support the next change.


    Coming out of the connection Kyle looked at Ash who was sweaty and with blood dripping from his nose. Ash was still cultivating like Miranda to build up some more mana because the feeling of being drained was a little uncomfortable.


    When they saw Kyle was up Clara and Lauren rushed forward with concern etched on their faces.


    "How''s my dad is he okay?" Clara blurted out before Lauren could even speak.


    Kyle turned to them and with a big grin just gave them a thumbs up while both of them looked at him in confusion. What did that mean was it good or bad?


    "This means he''s fine, he''ll just cultivate for a bit to balance his new mana levels." Kyle realised his blooper so he clarified what he meant.


    Leaving them to watch over Ash, Kyle went to his mother to have a chat while his dad came over as well.


    "Hey Kyle when will I be able to do this?" Landon asked with excitement etched on his face. This was something new and he wanted to see what difference it would mean for him.


    "Soon I''ll need to check you can support the new mana level but due to your training it should be fine once I''ve rested for a bit. Just a thought dad when do you train I don''t think I saw you train before you joined us, I mean physically?"


    "Well I trained with the guards when I was younger but I haven''t done any for the last 10 years or so why?"


    "Well you still look like you train but if you haven''t been how has your body maintained itself?"


    "What do you mean maintained, once you get strong you stay that strength."


    On hearing his father Kyle knew something was different about these peoples understanding. If you stop training your muscles would begin to atrophy and you would lose you edge but something was maintaining their strength once they hit a certain point.


    Thinking about the properties he had seen when mana was present in their bodies, the strengthening and evolution not to mention the healing Kyle thought the most likely thing was mana was supporting them. But if mana was being used to support the body less could be used to progress hence why cultivation slowed with not only the level but also the age of the practitioner.


    This however didn''t take into account how if you trained and mana was used to alter an evolve your body it would be stronger and last longer so it was a tightrope between training and cultivating.


    While Kyle was thinking about this his mother elbowed him in the stomach making him groan a bit.


    "What was that for?"


    "Because."

 66 Chapter 66 Express elevator to hell

    "Because."


    Kyle looked at his mother with an aggrieved expression, what did he do to deserve that? Landon was looking between them and he could see what his wife was doing. Kyle seemed to get too caught up in his thoughts so he needed someone to bring him back sometimes. Landon could see this as this was something he did himself, he would chase a line of thought until it became a knotted mess.


    Maria was his light and would show him the way when he couldn''t see a way out. This was usually by forcing him to step back, take a breath and look at whatever was playing on his mind with a fresh outlook.


    "Anyway I''ve thought of something I could do with your help with mom. With the projection training you''ve been doing could you switch to producing shapes or images and let me know if your soul force still increases."


    "I don''t have a problem doing that for you dear but can I ask why?"


    "Well you know a lot of what I can do is related to my strong soul force, I think this will help my guys to become stronger as well but they don''t have the time to become array masters. But if they can train in image projection rather than arrays with the same strengthening effect, it will solve the problem."


    Maria could see the advantage in doing it this way as when you produce arrays you have to hold a clear intent and understanding of what you''re doing. But if you can produce a static image without inputting the intent it would be much easier. You could even produce an image using what you are directly looking at.


    With image training on the table Maria readily agreed because if this worked it would make her own training much easier and if she could avoid the mental drain when she was so focused she should be able to train for longer. She thought she would need help to check against her results to make sure it wasn''t a fluke and she had just the person in mind.


    "Kyle I know you want to cross check your results like how you trained Miranda and Ash so I''m assuming you''ll want someone else to partake in this experiment."


    "Yes but I don''t know any other array masters who I can trust and my strength isn''t going to be useful to check the progress as it''s my mana which is to low not my soul force."


    "Well I think I know someone who would be interested in helping. It''s my master I sent a letter when I received my master''s certification and I would imagine she''ll be coming before long."


    Kyle thought this was a good idea as he knew that experiments require multiple results to check against. While Kyle could begin training his people in this form straight away the initial stages would be slow going. If an accomplished array master used it instead the results would be more readily apparent.


    Landon however was sweating when he hear his wife''s teacher was to return to his city. He really didn''t know how to deal with her and when he and Maria had told her they were getting married she threatened that if he played away she would remove Mr Happy in the most brutal way possible. Even thinking about it now Landon''s legs drew closer together and his face became pale.


    Kyle saw his father''s condition and was worried something dangerous was on the horizon.


    "Dad are you okay you look pale and sweaty. You haven''t come down with an illness have you?"


    "I''m fine Kyle just remember never get on the bad side of your mother''s master. Can you promise me that, please promise me?"


    Kyle was shocked by his father. What had this woman done to instil such a palpable dread? Maria remembered how her master scared Landon since they were young so she was used to him acting like this whenever her master was mentioned.


    "Kyle don''t worry about your father he''s just being silly. For now we''ll take our leave, when do you think you''ll be able to help with our breakthrough?"


    Landon came out of his funk when he heard his wife speak about training again. This was something he wanted desperately as he had sensed the spike in strength from Ash when he had his secondary breakthrough.


    "Oh if you haven''t got time now we can do it during tomorrow''s training."


    Kyle had checked his parents when they had been training and found their nodes were cleared so they could have their secondary breakthrough at any time.


    Hearing Kyle''s response they were both happy before the family of three hugged and Maria and Landon took their leave while saying goodbye.


    As they were leaving Kyle noticed something which made him grin. Isaiah and Nettie were chatting quietly in a corner of the grounds. They were the oldest members present and neither were married so it was natural they began to chat amongst themselves. As he watched on Isaiah said goodbye and gave Nettie a smart salute before following Landon.


    Nettie watched him until he was fully out of sight before turning back with a soft blush on her cheeks. It wasn''t known what they had spoken about but Nettie obviously enjoyed the attention. As she turned back she saw Kyle watching her with a grin on his face. Deciding not to say anything she just rushed away while being trailed by her trainees.


    Randall headed out with his men next so they could continue their training to become true weapon smiths. Zak had been speaking to Randall to see if he needed any equipment, Nettie was all set for the minute but as Randall was refurbishing existing equipment he may need smaller items like belts and latches which would be better sourced from outside so they didn''t lose anytime while they were producing their new products.


    Once Zak got a list of the consumables he needed from Randall he approached Kyle to see if he needed him for anything else.


    "My Lord I''m going to be heading to Mike''s (Bruno''s Dad) store with Kelly. Do you need me to pick up anything for you while I''m over there?"


    Kyle couldn''t think of anything he needed for a minute but he did want to head over there later and with Zak there he could take notes of what he needed to upgrade the stores protection.


    "I don''t need anything but once I''ve trained the ''shadow hand'' I''ll come over as I want to check the array''s I need to install or upgrade so could you wait for me there?"


    "Of course sir no problem."


    With this Zak walked away with Kelly so they could see about the requirements Randall needed. When they were out of sight Kyle clapped his hands gaining everyone who remained attention.


    "Well now starts the real training, Bruno you''ll be training with the guards as your style best matches them. Clara, Miranda you can train with the new maid crew along with Iris and Lauren. Liam you and me will be training with ''shadow hand'' any questions?"


    No one spoke for a minute before Lauren spoke up.


    "Kyle you''ve got a name for the group who are going to be working in the slums but what about us and the guards?"


    Kyle stopped for a minute, he had already come up with a name for the guards a long time ago but for the girls he was struggling. Suddenly a flash of inspiration came to him from what must have been some higher being.


    "Well the guards already have a name they are my ''death watch'' but the maids shall be known as the ''steel lotus'' any other questions?"


    Nobody had anything else to say so the groups began to speak amongst themselves before Kyle began to direct them.


    "Okay for now you guys need to reach a minimum level so ''steel lotus'' and ''death watch'' will both train and cultivate with Ash in charge ''shadow hand'' come with me we will be cultivating in the large pressure chamber."


    Before he left to begin training Lady Sparrow came over to see him.


    "I''m sorry sir but I must return to the business. We can''t be away for too long but if it''s okay Faye will stay and train today while I will stay tomorrow."


    "Yes that''s sensible so you can leave. Faye can you train with ''steel lotus'' please."


    Faye who was behind her sister nodded while Lady Sparrow said her goodbyes before she left. Kyle took his men and headed to their training room. After they entered Kyle sealed the room before he looked at them with a sadistic smile which made these hardened criminals shake.


    "Welcome to hell."

 67 Chapter 67 Back from hell

    "Welcome to hell."


    With this Kyle activated the array in the chamber. Suddenly the men felt a formless pressure bearing in on them. This wasn''t gravity instead it was a continuous force exerted from all directions simultaneously.


    "Sir can I ask what is this?" One asked with trepidation. He knew that his life was in the hands of Zero/Kyle and he didn''t yet know what may anger his new lord.


    Kyle wasn''t worried about the questions as this was something new to everyone. This would also be the first time he used this chamber himself. He responded to One with an excited face as this would be a learning experience for him as well.


    "This is a pressure chamber. By using mana to place pressure on all aspects of your body from all directions it will improve your training but you will be under constant restraint while training in it."


    "I''m sorry sir but how does that even work?"


    Kyle grinned when One asked this questions before he waved his fingers at him before responding.


    "M-a-g-i-c."


    While Kyle said this he was just trying to make a joke but One just nodded his head before he started moving his body to try and get used to the pressure. The rest of the men began doing the same leaving Kyle disgruntled that his joke had fallen flat. He had to understand he was now in a world where magic was real so his answer cleared a lot of the questions.


    In truth the room simply created a mana field around each person and this field would move with person while constricting them at a molecular level, simple but effective.


    Kyle began some basic training and flexing including running, push ups, sit ups and lunges. Once they had acclimated themselves to the pressure Kyle began to teach them basic moves from karate, judo, aikido, jeet kune do and krav maga before they began sparring.


    Kyle wasn''t too worried about them becoming a master in any particular form as these guys would be more involved in street fighting and control. So it made more sense for them to train against each other so they could learn more how to fight against less expert opponents.


    Sometimes someone untrained is more dangerous than a master because you can never predict what the untrained may do. So as they began sparring Kyle went up against them at different times. He wasn''t gentle in this training plus with the advantage of cultivation he could go all out and just let them heal themselves.


    Needless to say it was a massacre with men being launched left and right some ended up face first on the floor while others hit the walls. One who saw all this was reminded of when he first encountered Kyle while Liam was just amazed as he watched an 8 year old throwing men almost twice his size around like they were dolls.


    Gradually the men began to use the basics Kyle had shown them and started to try and fight back. Due to Kyle''s previous training and reactive senses which nobody else had accessed yet Kyle became a monster in their eyes. How could he do the things he could without them even managing to land a hit on him?


    When it was Liam''s turn Kyle went much easier on him. He corrected some of his stances and showed him the correct ways to fall without hurting himself and to recover quickly. The others wanted to shout out ''favouritism'' but then they reminded themselves the reason they were even here was because they attacked this beast in the first place.


    Finally it was One''s turn so he went up and stood opposite Kyle. While he hadn''t fought Kyle in this session yet he wasn''t idle. They were training amongst themselves while Kyle was beating his teachings into them and they were correcting their stances and moves based on what Kyle was doing.


    One decided that it was best to take the first move so when Kyle shouted "begin" One rushed up and tried to do a straight punch to seize the momentum. Kyle saw this and smiled before he stepped into One''s range.


    One was shocked by this move but before he could make contact Kyle seemed to flow around him. He was sure his fist should have made contact but as he extended his arm out he felt a slap on the back of his head which pushed him forward and off balance so he ended up face first on the mat.


    Kyle was standing there nodding, One was the first to take the initiative so he had been analysing Kyle''s previous fights and believed this was his best option. One stood up and shook his head slightly before he turned and faced Kyle again.


    This time rather than go all out he went for quick jabs and strikes hoping to create and opening. Kyle was again happy with One as rather than stick to one style he was trying out a few different means of attacking.


    As One was trying to hit Kyle who was moving like a slippery eel he suddenly dropped to a knee as Kyle had kicked him in the leg catching him by surprise.


    "Remember One any part of your body can be a weapon."


    One stood up again and carried on trying to get a hit on Kyle he also began to mix in kicks, knee strikes and elbows. It was all in vain but it showed he was listening to what Kyle was saying. The others were still training, some cultivated while others were pairing up and trying out various moves.


    Everyone had gotten somewhat used to the pressure but it was always there just about what they could tolerate, but what Kyle didn''t tell them was that as they became used to the pressure it would gradually increase so it was constantly improving them.


    This was the major reason Kyle had these guys training here and why he was sure he could get them up to spec in a week because with them being constantly under pressure their mana would evolve their bodies at a faster rate.


    While everyone was concentrating on their own training Kyle and One continued their battle. One was adapting quickly and getting more creative with his style, Kyle was still a cheat however and whatever One pulled out Kyle could counter.


    They trained like this for four hours before Kyle called a halt.


    "Okay everyone cultivate for 30 minutes then get cleaned up. It''s almost time for lunch so head to the kitchen when you''re ready."


    Kyle also cultivated with them after he had released the controls on the room and the men breathed a sigh of relief. They hadn''t noticed the pressure once their bodies had gotten used to it but once the pressure was off it was like a breath of fresh air.


    Once they had cultivated and regained their lost mana and stamina they headed to shower in their barracks while Kyle headed to his room to get cleaned up. He didn''t show it during the training but he also felt the effects of the pressure so he was as exhausted as the rest.


    Liam trudged off to his room as well to have a nice hot shower. When he was stood in the shower letting the hot water ease his aching muscles he noticed an improvement in his physique. He had an old injury in his knee where a rookie he was showing how to hunt had accidentally shot an arrow which hit him.


    His wife was always telling him he should try and get a job as a guard because he shouldn''t carry on as a hunter once he took an arrow to the knee. But this wasn''t a problem anymore as it didn''t hurt and looking at it even the scar had gone.


    Once they were all cleaned and rested they headed to the kitchen along with everyone else. The rest were chatting happily while the ''shadow hand'' and Liam remained somewhat quiet. Everyone saw this and a few asked them what had happened.


    The rest didn''t say anything as they weren''t yet close to these people but Liam responded with one sentence.


    "We saw the devil."


    Kyle happened to enter the kitchen as Liam said this and all the ''shadow hand'' watched him in fear. Kyle saw the looks he was receiving and looked over his shoulder because he thought that someone was behind him, seeing there was no one there he turned back and said.


    "Hey guys what''s up?"

 68 Chapter 68 Maid outfits are hard to design

    "Hey guys what''s up?"


    Everyone looked at Kyle while Kyle looked back with a confused expression on his face. The awkwardness continued to grow when suddenly Dylan returned. That big dumb beautiful dingbat managed to break the strange atmosphere as soon as he came in.


    "Hey guys what are we doing? Oh boss I''ve got the details you were after."


    "Thank you Dylan, what took you so long by the way? Did you happen to stop off and see Mavis?" Kyle wanted to tease Dylan a little after all he wanted him to know he wasn''t really angry that he dropped him in it with his mother earlier.


    "What do you mean boss it just took a little longer to get the info than I thought." Dylan became flustered with Kyle''s accusation and began flapping his hands around in a panic before everyone began laughing at him.


    "Hey that''s not fair why are you all laughing at me?" With the atmosphere back to where it should be everyone sat down to have lunch. Kyle spoke with Nettie and Randall during the lunch time about clothing and arms.


    Everyone would have general wear produced by Nettie. The men would wear similar styles to what Kyle wore while the women could come up with some specifics they chose themselves. With regards to combat gear the ''shadow hand'' would have a similar armour to that which Kyle had ordered earlier but with more plates and dyed black.


    It was similar to a bullet proof vest made with flexible plates so it would allow a full range of movement. For the ''death watch'' Kyle came up with a design which was similar in look to a sci-fi power armour with the head fully enclosed. This would take time to produce plus he was planning to place a mana crystal as a power source to aid in its movement.


    In the short term they would produce a prototype of this form to mess around and experiment with so for now the ''death watch'' would have plate chest armour with armoured hard leather armour on the arms and legs with plating at key points. As they were doing the designs and batting ideas back and forth a few of the ''death watch'' came up and put in their ideas and opinions so before long they had a plan in place.


    Next came the plans for ''steel lotus'', now this was going to be hard. These were his secret troops so he didn''t want them visible. For combat he decided on a full black armoured body suit with an incorporated mask and hood. There would also be loops and points for weapons and tools to be placed. This armour was very figure hugging and when the girls saw it they blushed.


    Kyle didn''t think much about morality or shame when he came up with this design. Instead this design was meant to allow free movement and not having loose fabrics or extras that could get accidentally caught up while they are on mission.


    The hard thing to design was the maid''s duty outfits. Apparently there is no standard for this attire and it can vary from outfits that would make a prostitute blush up to the full old English maid outfit which brushed the ground and no skin was visible. There was also everything in between which made Kyle struggle as to how he should design it.


    Clara and Miranda saw how much he was struggling so they came over and began to give their opinions and before long Lauren and Iris had become involved as well. As more and more ideas were put in and thrown out more of ''steel lotus'' became involved until Kyle was surrounded.


    The men had gradually worked their way up the table until it was only Kyle. Randall had abandoned him as soon as the ladies became involved as his instincts had warned him not to get involved so as a man of action he valiantly threw his lord under the bus and ran for cover.


    After almost an hour they had come up with an acceptable design it was a straight black dress with a white blouse with red highlights on the collar and cuffs. Kyle was surprised with some of the designs the ladies had come up with which ranged from armour to almost underwear.


    Once he had made the decision he told Nettie and Randall that Zak would arrange a schedule so everyone could get measured up for a few outfits before they started producing their armour. Finally Kyle placed his attention on Dylan.


    "Okay Dylan what did you manage to gather about the ruin?"


    "Well sir the land that that portion of the slum rests on is still technically under the ownership of the Powell family. Because a lot of people have taken the surrounding lands your family signed that land over to them as they didn''t have the means to repair it in the short term, but as no one wanted the ruins you can buy them from your father for a pittance."


    Hearing Dylan Kyle was pleased as with this he could try what his mansion had shown him without fear of someone trying to seize the property. So once they had finished and everyone was heading out Kyle wanted to at first see his father to get a figure for the land and to go and see Zak and Mike about the shop.


    Dylan stood up when he saw Kyle was leaving as he thought he would go with him. Kyle seeing this stopped him.


    "Dylan you missed out on your training so you need to make up for it this afternoon. Ash make sure he makes up for being late. One you will follow as my guard for now, Faye do you want to accompany me as we''ll be close to your sister''s place when we finish."


    Everyone jumped to follow his orders when Kyle shouted out to them. Ash was looking at Dylan like he was a chicken wing which made Dylan a little nervous. One approached Kyle and stood 2 steps behind him as he had seen Dylan doing yesterday. Faye happily came over and stood next to Kyle. She was still a head taller than he was so she felt like an older sister when they stood together.


    As they were preparing to leave Miranda, Bruno and Clara approached them. Bruno spoke to Kyle while Miranda and Clara looked at him with expectant eyes.


    "Hey bro is it okay if we come along as well?"


    Bruno wanted to see his folks while Miranda and Clara just wanted to go out for a bit. Kyle couldn''t see any reason to reject them.


    "Yup no problem but like I said I want to speak to my dad first."


    Everyone agreed and so they headed to them main hall to speak with Landon. When they approached the main hall Kyle indicated the rest should wait while he dealt with his father. Upon entering the main hall Kyle saw his father was in discussion with the elders again. His uncle Harris was the first one to notice him entering the room and sneered at him.


    "What are you doing here brat we are speaking about things you don''t need to know."


    Harris decided to belittle Kyle but when the elders saw who it was they didn''t back up Harris as they had seen his acumen during the last meeting he had intruded in. Landon upon seeing that his brother was speaking to his son with such disrespect became angry.


    "Harris remember who you are speaking to so shut up or will I need to make you."


    Kyle seeing his father''s reaction thought this was very reminiscent of Zak and Randall. There was some serious sibling rivalry going on here and with Kyle still not telling anyone about his cultivation progress was making Harris arrogant. Landon dismissed Harris from his mind once he saw he didn''t respond and looked at Kyle.


    "What can I do for you son?"


    "I wanted to speak to you about the ruins that are still our property in the slums. How much would it take to have them signed over to me personally?"


    Kyle wanted these ruins out of the hands of the family and for them to be his personal property like his crystal mansion as what they could do would become one of his trump cards. Landon was surprised by this but still indicated that Isaiah should speak.


    Isaiah flipped through a ledger he had in front of him and began to check the land value and how much they sold the land in the area for. Finally Isaiah had a figure for the ruins and some of the surrounding land included.


    "Well sir to buy the entire plot would cost 30 silvers."


    Hearing this value Kyle was happy as the funds his father had dedicated to his household was 200 gold and with the way things had been going Kyle had only spent 3 gold to get setup so far and before long they would have money coming in. Kyle made the payment using his guild card and received the deed for the property before leaving.


    When the group outside had heard Kyle had brought more land they were confused as to what he was planning to do with it before Clara asked.


    "Um Kyle what are you planning on doing with the ruins. Everyone says they''re haunted or cursed."


    "Well Clara I''m going to make my super villain base."

 69 Chapter 69 Use your imagination

    "Well Clara I''m going to make my super villain base."


    "Who''s a what now?"


    Clara didn''t understand what Kyle was saying while Miranda and Bruno just kept quiet as they had begun to get used to Kyle''s odd terms. One just remained quiet and waited for orders from Kyle.


    "If I can get the ruins to work in the way I think they will I''ll be able to use this as a base for ''shadow hand''."


    Kyle had brought the mana crystal shard and one of the spheres from the altar. He would try to get to the ruins now he had taken possession of it and see what would happen when he did as his mansion had directed.


    Now that little aside was completed Kyle led the way to the stables while Clara was still trying to work out what Kyle meant. Kyle, Bruno an One mounted up but Clara and Miranda hadn''t ridden the Prism Runners before and were a little intimidated.


    "If you guys aren''t comfortable riding you can mount p with one of us."


    Hearing this Clara and Miranda ran over to Kyle and both wanted to ride with him. Seeing this Bruno felt dejected, why didn''t anyone want to ride with him weren''t they friends? One came next to Bruno and put his hand on his shoulder and tried to comfort him.


    "Don''t worry one day you''ll find a woman who wants to ride with you."


    "But why doesn''t anyone want to ride with me now I thought we were friends?"


    "It doesn''t have anything to do with friendship young one, I guess it''s true what they say about girls maturing faster than boys."


    With this one moved away leaving Bruno with more questions than he began with. Kyle for his part now had Miranda sitting in front of him while Clara was hanging onto him from behind. Luckily these steeds were so large they could easily accommodate a setting like this.


    Once everyone was ready they headed out towards the store. As they were riding people stopped and pointed at Kyle and his hangers on while laughing. Clara hid her face on Kyle''s back while Miranda shrunk down as far as she could so the people couldn''t see her. They both thought this was a good idea when they left but now the embarrassment was getting to them.


    For his part Kyle just rode along not worrying about the pointing and staring. If it makes people happy who cares what they say. It didn''t take long to reach the store as it was located in the Powell''s territory near the estate so it also had a greater deal of protection than the market the day before.


    The store was a large three story building. The first floor was for general goods so the day to day materials were housed here. The second floor was the armoury which contained various weapons and armours. The third floor contained a few different rooms, the largest floor space was taken up by array goods or magical tools depending on who was talking.


    These goods were ones that used arrays and mana to produce effects and had the highest value in the store. The rest of the third floor was taken up by an office and Bruno''s families living quarters. There was also a basement which was used for storage.


    When the group entered through the front door they saw a wide array of goods laid out, this included fabrics, basic tools for hunters and various chemicals and spices. There was a shop girl at the counter who was surprised when she saw Bruno.


    "Hello young sir are you here to see your parents?"


    "Yes Emily can you let me know where they are."


    "Currently they are in the offices on the third floor with a new client."


    "Great that''s why I''m here I''ll head up now."


    With this Bruno lead the way while the rest were looking around. Everyone besides Kyle was looking at the goods around the shop with interest. Kyle was instead looking for arrays and the best locations and what other arrays would be necessary for the protection of the store.


    However laid the protection down in the store previously hadn''t done a very good job and had even left multiple holes and blind spots in the coverage. This was good and bad, good because Kyle could essentially start from fresh without having to merge his new system with the old, bad because it would take a while to install.


    As they reached the second floor they all looked at the weapons and Kyle could only shake his head. The quality of these weapons and armours was ridiculously low; there were poor alloys and bad leather used in their construction.


    While they walked to the next set of stairs Kyle could hear a few of the patrons chatting while they inspected the goods.


    "Look at this sword the quality is excellent."


    "These armguards are awesome I''ve saved for 3 months for these."


    "No wonder this is the best shop in this zone."


    Maybe Kyle had his standards to high but after hearing what they were saying about these sub-par goods Kyle felt better about what he was going to be placing on the market. Miranda saw Kyle''s sinister grin and couldn''t help but ask.


    "Sir what''s making you smile like that?"


    "Oh nothing just couldn''t help but think if they like these wait till they get a load of me."


    Miranda nodded when she heard Kyle''s response, after she had seen the quality of the sword he made in less than 2 hours she understood what he meant, she looked over the goods once again and could see how bad the quality was in comparison to what Kyle produced. Clara who heard them speaking couldn''t understand what they meant.


    "Sir what do you mean?"


    "Well the materials we are going to be selling are far higher in quality than what is currently available here, plus if people want them repaired a normal blacksmith just won''t cut it."


    Clara still didn''t really understand what the difference would be but just accepted what they said and let it go. Once they reached the third floor Kyle paid a bit more attention and looked at the different tools available. As these tools were much more expensive than those on the lower floors there were far fewer people on this floor.


    Again the quality available was far lower than Kyle could produce himself. As they walked further in suddenly they heard a ruckus.


    "WHAT DO YOU MEAN; YOU MUST HAVE BETTER STUFF THAN THIS. BRING OUT YOUR MANAGER SCUM DON''T YOU KNOW WHO I AM."


    Kyle was surprised by this sudden change and quickly looked around to make sure there was no guild manager around to quickly settle this. Seeing no one there Kyle took the lead and headed to where the shouting was coming from.


    He once again saw a peacock; this one looked a little younger than the one he had seen previously. This little maggot was shouting in the face of the clerk who was trying to placate them. Looking to the side Kyle could see Mike and Kelly hurrying over with Zak behind them.


    When Zak saw Kyle he changed direction and came straight over to his side.


    "Sir I''m glad you have arrived but it is unfortunate you had to see something like this."


    "That''s okay Zak who is this preening prat?"


    "He is one of the sons of the Miles house."


    "Not another one, do I need to get involved or can your parents deal with him Bruno?"


    "Sorry Kyle I don''t know usually I would say my folks are enough but recently the Miles family seem to be going against everyone."


    Hearing Bruno''s response Kyle decided to wait for a moment and see what was going to happen. Once Mike and Kelly had intervened they began to speak to the irate little maggot.


    "Sorry dear customer but currently these are the totality of our stocks."


    "WELL IN THAT CASE I DEMAND COMPENSATION FOR WASTING MY TIME. I KNOW I''LL TAKE YOUR WIFE WITH ME I''M SURE THE ELDERS WILL ENJOY PLAYING WITH HER."


    Bruno on hearing this took a step forward, no one speaks to his mum that way but Kyle put a hand on his shoulder.


    "Let me deal with this."


    Kyle had a malicious smile on his face, One shivered when he saw this and Dylan would likely pass out as this was the same smile he gave them before he fully broke them. Kyle walked forward and looked around him. There were more people around than previously as some had come from the lower floors when they heard this Miles family prat shouting.


    This looked like this is what he was aiming for, trying to cause a scene and insult the Powell family that was why he came to a store in their territory rather than one in their own. He also had 2 guards with him but they were only at level 5 so Kyle wasn''t worried about them. Even One had a higher level than them. Kyle thought of the best way to get his attention before he settled on just insulting him in as many ways as possible in the shortest time.


    "Hey maggot why are you bothering these store owners you little ***** ****** ****** why don''t you go back to daddy and *********** ***** ***** **** **** **** with a banana and cream."

 70 Chapter 70 Literally literal face slapping

    "Hey maggot why are you bothering these store owners you little ***** ****** ****** why don''t you go back to daddy and *********** ***** ***** **** **** **** with a banana and cream."


    *Clink, clink* that was the sound of a pin dropping. Everyone was looking at Kyle open mouthed. How could a child of only 8 swear with such vulgarity and inventiveness? The child of the Miles family and his guards were just looking between each other unsure of what to do.


    It was unknown who started it but suddenly someone in the crowd began laughing before they were joined by the whole surroundings who were laughing uproariously. Bruno was laughing and One was trying to stifle his laughing as he was supposed to be a guard right now. Clara was red from embarrassment while Miranda was confused as she didn''t know most of the words Kyle used.


    As they were being laughed at the people from the Miles family gradually became angry before the kid who was leading them moved to confront Kyle.


    "How dare you speak to me like that do you have no idea who I am!?"


    Hearing the Miles spawn Kyle grinned even more widely before he responded.


    "Nope haven''t got a clue, you can''t be very important in that case so you''d better get back to daddy before something bad happens to you."


    Hearing Kyle''s taunt the spawn couldn''t take it anymore and in a burst of hubris he attacked.


    "''TORNADO KICK.''"


    The spawn shouted out his move before his leg had begun to glow and he did a spinning kick towards Kyle''s head. Most of the surrounding drew in a breath as when they heard the name of this move they realised it was one of the central skills of the Miles family.


    It was different for the people on Kyle''s side, Miranda, Bruno and Clara on seeing this skill could only think ''weak'' while One had the thought ''well you''re screwed now''. Kyle was watching as this skill was getting closer to him in slow motion.


    Due to his enhanced reflexes and sense of time displacement Kyle had enough time to have a monologue with himself.


    ''Why would you shout out the name of the skill? Is this meant to be strong or is he just stupid? Why is the mana use so unstable? I wonder what''s for dinner tonight. Oh look there''s a sparrow in the window I wonder if it''s an African or European? What is the airspeed velocity of an unladen swallow?''


    While Kyle was thinking this the spawn''s leg was approaching and the spawn had a vicious smile on his face. How dare this peasant disrespect him like this he would teach him his place and take the girls he came with to torture and break them like he had seen the older members of his family do previously.


    The Miles family really had nothing to commend them as they even taught their youngest members how to abuse and torture people. How could such a family produce anyone worthwhile and honourable?


    As the leg was about to hit him Kyle came out of his daze and immediately used the ''tyrant fist'' skill as this was currently the only skill he knew. Although this skill was only a foundational skill in the hands of others and the ''tornado kick'' was a higher rated skill this was only due to people being unable to fully use the ''tyrant fist'' to its full capacity.


    Kyle didn''t strike but only defended but the rebound force made the spawn spin around like a top before collapsing on the ground. He wasn''t injured just a little disoriented from the fall. Returning to his feet he faced Kyle who moved in closer to him.


    "You dare my family will destroy you and your moth*SMACK*."


    Just as he was about to threaten Kyle''s mother Kyle gave him a good open palmed slap across the face. Ahh that''s better. The spawn could only put his hand on the side of his face in disbelief; he didn''t even see Kyle move.


    "Did you just slap me?"


    "I don''t know did it fell like this?" *SMACK*.


    Kyle had backhanded him this time on the other cheek; the spawn couldn''t even react before being face slapped. Kyle was enjoying himself now, he wouldn''t normally hit a child but this one was a bit far gone and if he wanted to teach him anything it would take a good shock to get him to listen.


    Now the guards of the spawn were angry and began to move in on Kyle with the intent of severely injuring or killing him. One on seeing the guards moving also stepped in.


    "Why don''t we let the young ones finish their game?" One said to the guards using an impressive sense of decorum and understanding Kyle was doing something.


    "Get out of the way or you will die as well." The older of the guards shouted at One before attacking him.


    It has to be understood One was a well known fighter even if he lost to an abnormality like Kyle he was rather strong in his own right. Seeing the attacks of the guards One realised how slow they were in comparison to Kyle''s move and he was grateful for the training he had earlier as these moves seemed to be travelling at a snail''s pace by comparison.


    *BANG, BANG, THUMP, RIP, and CRACK* within five moves One had taken both guards down and returned to his position behind Kyle. On seeing One''s understanding Kyle smiled at him before looking at the spawn again.


    "So now that little mulligan is out the way where were we? Oh yes you were going to explain to me about my mother. Please carry on I''m all ears."


    Kyle was looking at the spawn with a look of anticipation on his face.


    "How dare you I''m going*Smack* who do you think you are I''ll get*Smack* stop slapping me I*Smack*."


    Now the spawn had both cheeks red and he had begun to tear up from being abused like this. What had he done to deserve this he was only doing as he had seen the others in his family doing?


    Kyle could see the spawn''s confusion and he decided this would be the best time to try and correct this kid''s course. If he still became someone like the elders in his family Kyle would destroy him but he truly believed no child is beyond saving.


    "Well spawn think about what has just happened to you and how you feel. Now remember the people you''ve stepped over or on using your family''s name. No one deserves to be treated like this if they don''t deserve it. Now get out of here and take those guards with you."


    The spawn headed out while his guards hobbled along helping each other. While the guards were thinking of revenge and telling their family head about what happened, the spawn was instead running through what Kyle had said to him. It wasn''t an auspicious start but the fact he was questioning his actions means he wasn''t a totally lost cause.


    With all the hassle out of the way Kyle could finally speak to Mike and Kelly. He headed through the dispersing crowd and approached them with Zak to his left.


    "He Uncle Mike, Aunt Kelly. Hope you don''t mind me taking out the trash?"


    "No I''m happy for the help; he''s a noble so we couldn''t do anything to him. Zak told us what you wanted for the mansion, do you need anything else?" Mike responded to Kyle while Kelly was giving him a grateful look.


    "Nope I don''t need anything else but I do need to check the rest of the rooms to finalise the plan for your protection arrays. Do you also have a mana crystal on site?"


    "Yes we have in the basement store. Do you want to head down there first?"


    "No I''ll inspect up here then go to the basement before leaving."


    With this Mike showed Kyle through the rest of the rooms with Zak and One while Kelly took the others to their private rooms for some tea.


    Once Kyle had finished checking the third floor he went through the first 2 floors again to make sure he hadn''t missed anything before proceeding down to the basement. The mana crystal was located in the centre of the basement.


    It wasn''t even a third of the size of the crystal in his mansion and rather than floating freely it was instead suspended by metal rods which were attached to a control ring embedded in the floor. The craftsmanship and quality of this ring was awful as well.


    Kyle decided to revamp the whole thing mimicking the control ring from his mansion when he was redoing all of the arrays. Luckily he could use array projection and ''shaping'' arrays to complete this he just needed some time to draw out a rough plan. While Kyle, Zak and One were waiting on the first floor while Mike headed up to get the others Kyle heard a shout from the entrance.


    "Kyle you little bugger when did you decide to get a life?"

 71 Chapter 71 Right turn Clyde

    "Kyle you little bugger when did you decide to get a life?"


    Looking over to the new voice Kyle saw 2 young men, the one who spoke out was the older of the 2. He was a robust young man of around 20years old while the younger looked to be around 16. These were his cousins; the older cousin called Neil was the son of his older uncle while the younger cousin called Clyde was the son of his second uncle.


    Clyde was still living with his family while Neil had just returned from his national service. While it wasn''t necessary for the children of noble lineage to partake in national service Neil had volunteered but as the son of a noble family he was allowed to serve relatively close to New Grange City. He had been on station as a member of the border force who patrolled past the current outer territory of the empire in the hopes of preventing a beast horde from forming or attacking without warning.


    While this sounded like a favour for the noble family, the fact he had been placed in a force with the highest attrition rate made Kyle suspect a hidden hand was involved in his placement. While Kyle didn''t have much contact with Clyde as he was generally a quiet young man Neil always sought him out. He didn''t mistreat Kyle but he was always trying to get him involved, he was like an extrovert friend who was trying to get his introvert buddy to participate.


    Kyle responded to Neil while a small smile played on his face. He didn''t have a bad impression of these two from Kyle''s memories as they never seemed to look down on him unlike their fathers.


    "Hello Neil, Clyde how are you doing?"


    "Not bad little cuz just came to have a look at the weapons for Clyde."


    Clyde didn''t seem to want to participate and was just looking away while Neil was speaking loudly about their purpose.


    "Oh so Clyde is here for a weapon. I spoke to Uncle Mike just a little while ago and he has better stocks coming in soon so you may want to wait until they arrive."


    "Really cool, you hear that Clyde you may find something you can use ha-ha."


    While Neil wasn''t a bad guy he was still a little full on. As they were talking the rest of Kyle''s group arrived, when Clara and Miranda saw Kyle they moved closer to him and stood on either side of him. When Neil saw this he smiled before a glint appeared in his eye before he spoke loudly to Clyde again.


    "Hey Clyde it looks like our little cuz is a ladies'' man. Better step up your game or he''ll become a man before you."


    Neil always pushed Clyde, not trying to be horrible but he felt Clyde was too passive so with a little confrontation he may begin to respond. Clyde, Clara and Miranda became red from Neil''s provocation which made him grin even more. Kyle decided Neil needed to be knocked down a peg so while he was still enjoying messing with these people Kyle spoke up.


    "Oh really Neil you''ve already become a man? So you finally made some progress with the little miss from the Tor family?"


    While the previous Kyle didn''t spend much time with other people he did know that his older cousin was deeply in love and devoted to the oldest daughter of the Tor family. She was an early stage sorcerer specialising in taming so she did some work in the city. While she was interested in Neil she still held back looking like she wanted to find Neil''s intentions.


    Hearing what Kyle said Neil became shocked before turning slightly red before he began spluttering his response.


    "Well no but she I like maybe soon she''ll might kinda date if."


    Neil had become completely flustered at the mention of his lifetime crush. He didn''t know how to respond, it would have been easy to lie and say yes he had got some liberties but he did love her and didn''t want to even risk tarnishing her reputation. Kyle suspected the reason he asked to do national service was in some way connected to her.


    Clyde looked at the stumped Neil before flashing Kyle a grateful smile while Miranda and Clara were giggling seeing Neil mental meltdown and Bruno was just laughing at his kinsman. Clyde finally took pity on his cousin and spoke to him.


    "Come on Neil why don''t we get some lunch I''m paying."


    Neil latched onto this statement like a lifeline.


    "Oh great I know a perfect place we can grab some food. Do you guys want to join us?"


    Kyle responded as he had some other things to sort as he still had some time.


    "No you guys carry on we''ve still got a couple of stops to make."


    With this Neil and Clyde headed out, Kyle felt these pair had a really good relationship and he had a good impression of the so he hoped they would eventually help support his family. As they reached the entrance he heard Neil directing Clyde.


    "Ok Clyde we''re heading this way. No not that way right turn Clyde."


    With them moving out of sight Kyle began to lead the way out but as they were going he noticed some grey hooded cloaks which may be a good idea to wear while they headed to the next destination. Taking four cloaks one for each of the youngsters of the group Kyle paid at the counter.


    "Bruno will we be okay to leave our steeds here for now."


    The shop had a small stable to the side for customers and it would be better if they didn''t ride expensive steeds around the slum district.


    "Yeah no problem I''ll just let the stable master know."


    Before Bruno left Kyle gave him a robe and passed the rest out. Before he gave a new directive to One.


    "Okay One from now on walk in front of us like your leading. We are heading for the ruins in the eighth district, do you know the way?"


    One merely nodded as he knew the ruins Kyle was speaking about as the locals including him and his men avoided this area. Bruno came back shortly and they began to make their way to the slums.


    While the location wasn''t too far it still took them over 30 minutes to reach. Once they got there One slowed down and was looking at the stones with a little fear. Regardless of what Kyle told him it was still embedded in his mind this was a cursed location.


    As Kyle made his way further in the rest of the youngsters followed his path before One followed. He didn''t want to be the only one afraid plus how could he show fear when these kids didn''t. Kyle navigated his way through the maze of broken stone occasionally stopping to inspect an array.


    Finally they reached the broken staircase which concealed the entrance to the lower levels. Kyle remembered the order to place the items he was shown by his mana crystal and as Kyle didn''t know what to expect he chose to follow the instructions as they were shown.


    This meant his first stop was the lower altar where he had claimed the 2 metal spheres. He had inspected the spheres full now and both appeared identical. He still couldn''t see what their purpose was as the etchings on them were definitely not arrays or formations he knew.


    Reaching the altar Kyle placed the sphere in the depression located in the top of the altar and waited for something to happen. After a few minutes with no reaction Kyle decided it would be best to place the new mana crystal he had received from his one and see if there was any change.


    Returning to the formation chamber Kyle moved towards the centre and began to collect the broken pieces of the control ring which were scattered around the room. The rest of the team helped with this and brought over the various pieces of the control ring they found around the room.


    Kyle began to try and piece the ring back together the best he could by laying the ring out. It was a slow process as some of the metal was brutally twisted from whatever had caused it to shatter in the first place but gradually Kyle had it in some semblance of order.


    Happy with what he had done Kyle placed the mana crystal in the centre of the metal and waited. For a moment nothing happened and the others began to think there must have been a mistake, but Kyle began to feel mana fluctuations and he could see some of the arrays on the ring began to pulse.


    This was slow at the start and the others couldn''t even perceive it but gradually light began to come from the crystal and the ring. As they watched the ring began to slowly fuse back together and turn around the crystal. When the ring was fully fused it and the crystal started to levitate and moved to the centre of the room.


    The damage on the ring was still present but as they were watching the damage was becoming less and less. Slowly the formation in the chamber began to show signs of recovery with lights flickering within it from time to time.


    Kyle could perceive that the local mana was gradually but inextricably moving to the crystal increasing the amount of mana within. As the mana increased the size of the crystal increased until the crystal began producing more mana than it was absorbing until it stopped absorbing mana altogether and only released it.


    This was the first time Kyle had seen a mana crystal grow so he wondered if this is how all mana crystals formed and if possibly this was the source of all mana. Once the crystal had reached this breakeven point the speed at which the formation within the room began to recover increased incredibly until it was active and stable. Kyle was so happy seeing this ruin was healing couldn''t help but shout out to show his joy.


    "IT''S ALIVE!"

 72 Chapter 72 Smiling devil

    "IT''S ALIVE!"


    *Cough, cough* I''d better not do that again thought Kyle at least not in a dusty old building. The mana was continuing to increase in intensity as the crystal continued to strengthen, suddenly there was a pulse of mana which passed through the chamber and caused the arrays outside to respond.


    Kyle saw this and wondered what was happening, why did the crystal pulse out mana like that when it obviously didn''t have much to spare yet as it was still much smaller than the one in his mansion. The only thing he could come up with was this was a ping like sonar or when you ping a address on the internet to get a response but in this case it was trying to connect to any intact or active arrays.


    Once the ''ping'' had passed Kyle perceived new mana connections were forming with the arrays present. He also noted a small but continuous flow of mana wasn''t following the other connections and was instead flowing down directly.


    Thinking this may be his chance to see the strange altar below becoming active Kyle led the way back downstairs.


    "Come on guys I want to have a look downstairs and try to work out what that altar is for."


    "No prob bro lead the way." Bruno responded so Kyle headed down.


    The altar was still exposed unlike the one at his mansion, but now there was a line of pure mana coming down from above. Within this line of mana the metal sphere was floating while spinning slowly on its own axis.


    The strange arrays present on the green stone had begun to glimmer slightly but it was dim and barely noticeable to the naked eye. This must have been due to the lack of mana produced by the crystal but why would some of this precious mana be diverted to this thing before it had mana to spare?


    Kyle still couldn''t work out what this room and altar was for but it didn''t seem to be detrimental to the system just a bit of a drain on resources. While Kyle was inspecting the room and the arrays the other 3 kids began to chat amongst themselves.


    "What do you think this room is for?" Miranda asked with a shudder, the layout and kind of material used in its construction felt somehow alien to her. She couldn''t put her finger on it but it didn''t have the same warm feeling the crystal mansion or even the ruins above gave her.


    "I don''t know maybe they sacrificed children down here or something." Bruno responded in his usual blunt and somewhat brutal fashion.


    "I don''t think so, this seems like it had a purpose and was made for that purpose." One had silently approached them before saying his belief making all three jump.


    "Why don''t you make some noise, you scared the wits out of me." Clara chided One while placing her hand over her heart.


    While the rest were chatting Kyle had used his soul sense to see if he could glean some information on this altar before it was completely covered in mana like what happened in his mansion.


    He could see the array and altar with the mana flowing around but he could also see arrays being projected by the sphere. These arrays began to breakdown as they left the proximity of the sphere but a few which were closer to the sphere began to be maintained as Kyle watched.


    As Kyle continued to watch the progress of the sphere he felt a brush against his mind. It was a warm and comforting feeling, even though it was only a limited and soft contact Kyle could easily recognise it. It was the same feeling his home gave him, somehow his mansion was now connected to this one if only in a limited fashion.


    Was this due to this room or because of the new crystal that he had placed? Kyle didn''t know yet but he intended to find out. As he couldn''t learn anything more down here for a minute he headed back to the formation chamber. He didn''t say anything as he was caught up in his own thoughts but the rest just followed behind him.


    "Do you think Kyle knows what he''s doing?" Bruno asked quietly, he trusted Kyle but all of this was beyond his understanding and he was unsure if he should be doing anything to help.


    "I''m sure the Lord knows what he''s doing." Miranda responded without any question in her mind, she had begun to develop a blind faith in Kyle which may be dangerous for her down the line.


    "Well he understands more about these things than we do at the very least." Clara spoke her mind on the matter while One just kept his silence.


    Arriving back at the mana crystal Kyle inspected it and could see that the mana output had continued to increase. Looking at the arrays the crystal was outputting Kyle was able to identify several which were used for concealment and disguise. It looks like his mansion knew that he needed this kept secret and was way ahead of him on this.


    Deciding there was nothing more he could do here he looked towards his companions.


    "We should head out, this will take a while to finish its process and we don''t need to be here to watch it."


    "Great where to next?" Bruno asked excitedly as he had begun to get bored of just looking at stone walls.


    "Well since it isn''t too late I would like to visit the Black family estate."


    "Oh are you going to beat us some heirs from there as well?" Kyle looked at Bruno with a deadpan stare, when did he get a reputation for beating arrogant heirs? It was only one directly and he saw another getting beaten.


    Kyle decided silence was the best answer for this situation so he turned away and exited the basement. Bruno stood there watching Kyle with a confused look on his face, why did Kyle react like that? Suddenly *WHACK* he was hit around the back of the head by Clara.


    "What''d you do that for?" Bruno said while rubbing the back of his head. Clara just gave him a look while rubbing her hand.


    "Because you are an idiot and your head is too hard." With this Clara left closely followed by Miranda who gave Bruno an apologetic look. Bruno glanced around seeking some support but only saw One who just shrugged before following the rest.


    Bruno decided to think on this later before he buried this in a deep dark corner of his mind never to see the light of day again and followed them out.


    On returning to ground level Kyle saw that there were still a few hours of daylight, more than enough time to visit the black estate and maybe take a peek of this tool they needed help fixing. As he was leaving the ruins Kyle looked at the arrays still visibly connected to the mana crystal and could see they were being replaced with new or complete arrays.


    These were mostly new concealment arrays which if he was reading them correctly would maintain the image of the ruin regardless of the standing condition of the building. It would be a shroud which only those permitted would be able to pierce.


    Kyle was thinking of the best way to utilise this new function. He had already earmarked this new base for ''shadow hand'' so he would leave it in disguise for now but maybe when an enemy was getting close he could drop the illusion and BAM you''re now facing a fort complete with over powered defensive arrays and a group of trained soldiers.


    While Kyle was fantasizing about how badass this would be the rest of the group were watching him.


    "Kyle seems to be happy about something." Bruno noted to the rest.


    "Yes the lord seems to be in good humour about something. What do you think it is?" Miranda was also watching Kyle and could see the gleam in his eye and the smile that made her heart pound.


    "Hum I think he''s coming up with a prank or some mischief." Clara thought he looked like one of the kids she used to know who like to prank people and as soon as you saw that smile on his face you knew he was planning to poke someone with something pointy.


    One had the worst reaction of them as he had seen this smile before. It was as Kyle was training them and was planning something new and painful. He began to shiver uncontrollably which was seen by Miranda who as a kind girl wanted to check on him.


    "Are you okay Mr One?"


    One was fully immersed in his own fears and delusions and could be heard mumbling.


    "The devil smiles, the devil smiles."

 73 Chapter 73 Country files

    "The devil smiles, the devil smiles."


    Miranda on seeing One''s reaction moved towards him and as she was a caring and sympathetic person she began to rub his back to help calm him down. Bruno and Clara also saw One''s reaction remembered how Dylan was acting.


    "Another one down." Bruno


    "Another one gone." Clara


    "Another one bites the dust." Kyle


    Kyle had seen them trying to be sympathetic to One so he had returned to them and on hearing what they were saying decided to join in on the fun. One on seeing Kyle had returned during his delusion panicked and tried to rapidly move away.


    On seeing his reaction Kyle was feeling guilty, had he given One some kind of PTSD with one day of training. He had seen some of One personality while they fought and remembered a line he had heard in a movie or story about drill sergeants.


    "You know One whatever happens to you during your training you get to put through your trainees through as well."


    On hearing Kyle''s words One stopped trying to retreat and took on a thoughtful expression. You know that doesn''t sound too bad, not bad at all. One took on a slightly sadistic smile as he imagined putting his juniors through the same training he had been and was going to be subjected to.


    As the saying goes "misery loves company" and he knew the rest of ''shadow hand'' needed to understand this boon they would be given to relieve their pain and anguish on those they would be training subsequently. Another saying jumped to mind that being "shit rolls downhill". Before he could run away with his fantasy Kyle brought him crashing back down.


    "But you still have to complete your training first so chin up."


    One slumped at this but at least there was a light at the end of the tunnel the only problem was it could be a train coming towards him. Kyle didn''t feel the need to say to him that whatever punishing training he was putting him and the rest of ''shadow hand'' through he was going through the same pain and anguish as them but he knew it was necessary and hey maybe they would realise he was doing the same as them on their own.


    With this little aside out of the way the group carried on towards Bruno''s shop to collect their steeds. The area gradually regained life and light as they exited the slums and they could breathe easier once again. The slums radiated a feeling of dejection and loss that was suffocating and after experiencing this feeling twice Kyle determined he would do his best to help the slums recover unlike how the rest of the city had almost quarantined it like some kind of infection.


    They reached the store in good time and collected their steeds and began to make their way to the black estate. The estate while not as large as the Powell estate was still quite large and contained several large mansion for the members of the household.


    The style within the estate was markedly different than the buildings in the Powell estate. While the Powell''s had an architectural aesthetic of around the 1500-1600''s with an almost fantasy feel to them, the Black''s seemed to have taken a more utilitarian approach with their buildings being made of large blocks of granite or some similar stone. It gave the entire estate a feeling of being massive and intimidating but lacked any real impression of beauty.


    As they approached the first checkpoint within the estate they stopped to speak to the guards and get permission to enter. The checkpoint was built into the protective wall which surrounded the main building. The wall was made of the same material as the wall that surrounded the city and the one which surrounded the Powell estate but perhaps due to financial or time constraints this one only surrounded the main building.


    "Good afternoon I''m Kyle Powell son of Maria and Landon Powell; I would like to speak to Lord Leonard Black about the posting he placed in the array masters guild. May I have permission to enter or would you be able to get permission for my entrance thank you." Kyle spoke to the guards politely as he didn''t think there would be any problems as the Black''s and the Powell family were known allies.


    The guards were surprised Kyle spoke to them without arrogance and instead with respect, most young masters were to be perfectly blunt tossers. The guard captain stepped up and addressed Kyle.


    "I''m sorry Junior Lord Powell I will have to get authorisation from Lord Leonard would you kindly wait here?" The captain spoke to Kyle with some trepidation as he couldn''t predict how this young one may react to being delayed and if he wanted to make his life difficult it would be easy.


    "No problem captain is there a stable we can store our steeds in within the wall?" Kyle wasn''t bothered about waiting the captain was only doing his job.


    "Yes there is a stable on the east side but if you''ll excuse me I will be as quick as possible."


    With this the captain hurried through the door and began to jog to the building. The guards who remained were left looking up at Kyle and his group who were still mounted. Kyle didn''t feel like looking down on these men so he dismounted and loosely held the reins. When he jumped down Clara and Miranda who were still riding with him also dismounted followed by Bruno and One.


    Looking through the gate Kyle could see a large area between the wall and the building which looked like some kind of park with a few trees and open grass areas. Kyle looked to the guards who remained who looked at him with some interest and also a little fear.


    These gate guards weren''t direct members of the Black family; they were instead of commoner descent but had been employed by the Black''s. This was a blessing getting the work but could easily become a curse because if there were any problems the family wouldn''t hesitate to throw them under the bus to protect themselves. The Black were not a bad group but they would always protect their interests first.


    "Good afternoon how are you guys doing?" Kyle didn''t like the silence so he decided to speak to the guards.


    The guards looked at each other unsure of what they should do before one of the older members, a corporal spoke up deciding it was better to say something rather than leave the kid hanging.


    "We''re good sir can''t really complain about much." The corporal had a slight accent which to Kyle''s ear almost sounded like he was from the West Country in good old England.


    Hearing this accent Kyle felt a small but sharp feeling of home sickness but he was also happy to hear this slowly spoken accent which made you feel at ease.


    "Oh you''re not a local then?" Kyle asked as he was curious where this guy had picked up this accent from.


    "Nah sir I''m originally from a small city to the south, not much to say about it but it was home." As the man spoke he had a slightly wistful look in his eyes.


    "Really why''d you come here then? Not much work over there I take it."


    "Nar nothing hap''nin bout there you can work to fields all day but get nuthin but sun burn and a burnin ass as me da used to say." As the corporal spoke his accent became stronger and his country bumpkin upbringing came to the front.


    "Yup my dad says there''s nothing stranger than folk and if all you want is to watch your wheat grow you have a go." Kyle was enjoying speaking to this man and had also begun to slip into a folksy drawl while he was speaking to him.


    The surrounding guards and Kyle''s group were staring at the now in-sync pair who appeared to understand each other on some unknown wavelength. How did this happen wasn''t Kyle a scion of one of the most powerful families in the city.


    Gradually the guards began to lose their fears as they watched Kyle and their corporal bantering back and forth about various stupid country topics until the captain came back to hear the end of one of his corporals stories which had Kyle and the rest rolling on the floor.


    "So thar''s me already baked turned the wrong way and walked back out me front door wearing nothing but one sock and the old dear over the road has already called the guard. So I''s gets traipsed through the town in shackles in me b''rthday suit with some poor young guard following me bare backside."


    HAHAHAHHAHAHAA Kyle was laughing so hard he had tears streaming down his face. This was the kind of thing he missed, not much else from his past life but these ridiculous anecdotes only country boys would be able to dig up. The guard captain was shocked seeing this now seated group of commoners and nobles chatting and laughing like this. Where was the disdain and segregation he hadn''t seen this before? So in order to keep from getting an aneurysm he decided to get their attention.


    *Cough, Cough*


    "Lord Black has asked to see you straight away if you could follow me?"


    Hearing this Kyle got himself under control but still with a big smile on his face and held out his hand to the corporal who shook it without any thought.


    "It was nice to meet you and I hope you have more stories next time we meet. I tell you what we''ll grab a few drinks my shout you all are invited to."


    The guards all cheered hearing Kyle while the corporal had a shine in his eye and said.


    "Yarp no prob I''ll tell you the one about streakin through the local auction ''ouse."

 74 Chapter 74 Healing gems

    "Yarp no prob I''ll tell you the one about streakin through the local auction ''ouse."


    Well that was an image I think everyone could do without if I''m honest thought Kyle while he waved and led his steed through the gate following the guard captain who was taking them in.


    The group were looking around the grounds, there were people moving around with various purposes but the most obvious group were a crowd of men who looked like they were holding a wrestling competition.


    As they walked past Kyle saw that the man who seemed to be dominating looked to be around 20 standing a good 6foot 3inches tall with a mane of shaggy blonde hair. While some of the others seemed to be stronger or faster this guy just kept getting back up until his opponent gave up.


    They had stopped to watch this match before the captain tried to hustle them on.


    "Excuse me my Lord is waiting would you follow me please."


    "Sorry I was distracted, that young man has a good willpower he''ll go far if he can maintain it."


    Kyle thought this young man would be an excellent guard but unfortunately he was already tied to the black family. The captain looked back to the ring and smiled slightly before he carried onwards to the stable so they could store their steeds.


    Once the steeds were in their stables they headed through a side entrance which took them to the main entrance which was guarded by two men holding great swords blade down with their hands crossed over the hilt.


    It appeared that the delay at the entrance was to give them time to get things into place giving a sense of authority and grandeur. It didn''t really have any effect on Kyle however as he knew that these men didn''t have the correct armour for their size so it was pinching and chafing while they waited for the group to walk through. Kyle leaned towards one of the men and gave a little advice.


    "You know if you use coconut butter it won''t rub as bad."


    Leaving behind a red faced guard Kyle walked through the entrance with a big smile on his face. He liked this place it had a lot of life and energy to it. Walking through the entranceway Kyle and the rest were looking around taking in the surroundings.


    The building looked much more elegant inside than it appeared from the outside. Multiple light sources were used to brighten what would be a very dark place grand carpets littered the floor with many large murals covered the bare walls.


    With the high vaulted ceilings braced with dark hardwoods to the narrow high windows spaced to far apart this was truly a home built for combat with only a veneer of civility hiding the sharp edges. The captain carried on walking through the hall occasionally pointing to one mural or another telling the group what they represented.


    "This one is a picture of the lord''s grandfather when he battled in the high plain pass and that one is of the current lord''s battle with the crater gang who had been harassing the merchants."


    Kyle merely nodded and thought this was a little over the top while he could hear Miranda and Clara whispering behind him while Bruno had been relegated to walking besides One.


    "Why do you think they have so many pictures of old battles?" Miranda asked with her usual innocence.


    "Maybe they want to remind themselves of what they did in the past; my dad says that as you get older your memory can start to fail." Clara responded with her knowledge gained from being a whole year older.


    "I don''t know some of them are really old maybe they''re compensating for something?" Miranda thought this may be a good explanation for why there were also so many portraits in which the people presented didn''t look like real people.


    "Maybe what do you think they''re compensating for? Do they need help or maybe a healer?" Clara was worried for the family as they didn''t treat them badly and they didn''t want them to have any problems. By now Kyle had tears in his eyes and a red face from trying to stop bursting out with laughter. Looking at the captain he could see he was shaking when suddenly there was a little *pfft* of suppressed laughter and he knew the captain wasn''t angry but like him was trying to stop laughing.


    "Don''t worry girls these things come and go and I''m sure they''ll find something to help get over their issues." Kyle decided to head this off before they got to close to the main hall in case Leonard Black managed to hear what they were saying.


    "Okay my Lord." Miranda and Clara responded together trusting that Kyle would be able to sort any issue.


    On reaching the main hall they saw it opened into a large chamber flanked by large columns with a dark red carpet leading to a chair on a raised dais. The chair didn''t look unlike a throne with a large man sitting in it with his chin in his hand as he looks at these children entering.


    Seeing the man Kyle could see if he stood he would tower over everyone present. He had a large bushy beard with warm brown eyes with slightly bushy eyebrows. His brown hair was semi short. He also had begun to develop a bit of a gut probably from living the good life a bit too much. While the mana within the body could heal and maintain strength it couldn''t prevent a paunch if you ate too many pies.


    Kyle walked forward leaving the rest slightly behind, as he walked he seemed to cloak himself in nobility. A sense of confidence and dignity formed around him making the others present look at him like he was a different person.


    This was Kyle pulling how to act like a noble from the previous Kyle''s memory; he had been trained in oratory and in how to present yourself as a noble. This coupled with a little release of soul force meant that even if Kyle was in nothing but a pair of fluffy pink slippers people would still feel the need to defer to him.


    Seeing this sudden change in Kyle Leonard raised his head from his hand and begun to pay attention to this new scion. The only time he felt a presence like this was when he met one of the old lords while he had been sent on a mission in the capital. These old lords were previous house heads who had gained too high a cultivation in their respective territories and were recalled to the capital to work as ''guardians of the empire'' but in truth this was done so no outer cities would ever be strong enough to resist the royal family.


    Both the Powell and Black family had previous family heads residing in the capital including Leonard''s father and Kyle''s grandfathers maternal and paternal in this case.


    "Greetings Lord Black it is a pleasure to meet you." Kyle greeted Leonard while giving a nod as greeting. Even if Leonard was a house head as the heir apparent to the Powell family Kyle wasn''t required to bow.


    "Good afternoon would it be okay if I called you Kyle, you can call me Uncle Leonard if you''d like." As the Black and Powell families were allies Leonard didn''t want any distance to grow between them because of some silly need to use honorific''s so he hoped Kyle would accept this plus he didn''t want to have to always say young lord Powell as he would likely dislocate his jaw.


    Leonard Black was a simple and honest man even if he had been force to learn about politics.


    "That''s no problem Uncle Leonard; I will keep this simple I''m here because I have passed my master level array certification. While I was there I saw your posting and was curious to see if I could help."


    Leonard was shocked to find Kyle was at master level as an array master, while he had received information that Kyle had passed a certification he had assumed it was as an apprentice or an adept. He didn''t think there would be any problem as the device was already non-functional so he waved to his butler who left to grab the tool.


    "If I may ask what is the intended use of the device?" Kyle asked as if he knew how it was meant to work it would save him time trying to debug it.


    "Well it is a healing tool, it is meant to be able to eradicate certain illnesses but while it worked when I first bought it, it has since ceased functioning and nobody has been able to find why."


    As they had been speaking the butler had returned with a box made of dark hardwood. He passed the box to Kyle before stepping back beside Leonard.


    "Can I ask who this was being used on?" Kyle was curious as to why Leonard needed such a device.


    "It''s fine in fact it is for my wife and daughter. My wife had taken our daughter with her out of the city to visit her mother in a nearby city. Something attacked them during the trip, the guards were killed while they protected them but they were still injured somehow and they have been gradually weakening. My wife is stronger so she has time but my daughter will fall if a sol*cough* solution isn''t found soon." As Leonard spoke his voice cracked showing his worry. This was probably the reason he had also put on weight as he had probably been comfort eating.


    Kyle decided to focus on this tool as he hoped it would be able to help. Opening the box Kyle saw a round gem which looked as though it was an amethyst or similar. Over the gem various arrays had been carved and inlaid with gold. While this was a little ornate Kyle could see the arrays were of a similar type to the older ones he had seen in his mana crystal.


    Kyle took out the gem and began to inspect it; he looked over the arrays inspecting both the glyphs and the control arrays. He could see some discrepancies on the control arrays so he wanted to check a few things.


    "Uncle Leonard how were you instructed to use this tool?"


    "Well the way I was told was to place it in the centre of the patient''s chest and drive my mana into it. This will make the arrays activate and heal the patient."


    "Okay I can see the problem, can we visit one of the patients please."


    Hearing Kyle had a solution Leonard didn''t even question it as he had been losing hope and was willing to try anything. The butler on hearing Kyle vanished somewhere but Kyle didn''t pick up anything malicious from him so he didn''t think he intended any mischief.


    Leonard led them through a side door and began to hurry through the halls making Kyle and crowd have to run to keep up. In short order they reached a room filled with light brightening it. Inside the room were two beds on one a middle aged lady was sitting up reading while in the other a young girl of 4 or 5 years old was sleeping. On seeing Leonard bouncing into the room the woman looked at him with a gentle smile she hadn''t seen him with this kind of energy since they were attacked.


    "Hello dear why are you in such a hurry?"


    "We may have a solution Kyle can you see what you can do."


    Leonard indicated that Kyle should come forward, normally he would formally introduce them but he was currently riding high so all decorum was out of the window. Kyle just shook his head slightly before coming forward.


    "Good afternoon, I need to show you the correct application of this tool but firstly I need to make a repair to it. I want you both to watch this so you can understand what has happened to you."


    With this Kyle brought out the tool and pushed his mana into it causing the arrays to light up. He did this so it was easier for the couple to see.


    "Well your problem it this array here, if you look at the control ring this glyph has been altered. Originally this tool should draw mana from a nearby mana crystal but by changing this glyph it instead draws mana from the patient slowly draining them. I also believe you have a slow acting poison in your body. Normally your mana would be able to resist such a poison but with this tool draining it your bodies are slowly becoming damaged."


    On hearing what Kyle said Leonard became enraged but then fearful.


    "What can we do is there no hope?"


    "Don''t worry Uncle Leonard all I need to do is restore the glyph and the tool will function as intended. Even someone was using this tool to kill undetectably its true purpose is correct. Please watch."


    Once Kyle said this he used his skills to return the glyph to its true form. Once the change was made the tool pulsed purple before settling. Kyle took it to Lady Black as he correctly believed no parent would want their child to be the first to try something untested.


    Kyle gave the tool to her and she laid back and placed it on her chest. Nothing happened for a few seconds and Leonard was just about to say something when there was a flicker in the lights as the mana was drawn from them as the nearest free source.


    As the lights dimmed the purple gem began to glow slowly a darkness could be seen within the gem which quickly disappeared before the gem glowed brightly. This light covered Lady Black before it died down.


    Once the light had cleared a healthy a vibrant woman could be seen. The tool had done its job and she was cured. Leonard couldn''t hold it back anymore and burst into tears, he rushed to his wife hugging her and kissing her. He thought he would lose her and his daughter so the sudden relief was understandable.


    The tool had fallen to the side during their affection so Kyle nipped in and grabbed it before walking over to their daughter and place the tool over her chest. As before it took a few seconds to start the process.


    As it reached the point where her body was covered in the purple glow the door to the room burst open. The same young man they had seen wresting rushed in, he saw his father hugging his mother and feared the worst and when he saw Kyle standing over his sister he jumped to the conclusion that while his father was distracted this beast was trying to kill his sister. He didn''t even register that Kyle was still a child himself.


    "You animal you want to hurt my sister!" Just as he was about to launch himself at Kyle the light died down and a weak voice could be heard.


    "Brother is that you?" It was the daughter of the family, she had been unconscious for the last week so she was severely weakened but with her poisoning and injuries healed she would recover quickly.


    Seeing his sister awake the young man rushed over and like his father burst into tears. It looked like this family was very emotional. Leonard had looked up when he heard his son but before he could do anything it was already over.


    Kyle looked at the happy family and got a nice fuzzy feeling inside. It was always nice to help people. He saw that Leonard was trying to disengage himself from his wife but Kyle decided to stop him.


    "Uncle Leonard spend time with your family, I''ll come back another day and we can talk."


    "Of course Kyle and thank you."


    Kyle led the group out and they returned to the stables but not before Miranda piped up.


    "See I told you Kyle would help with their issue."


    Taking their steeds they returned home for the day having done their good deed and making a connection with the Black family. As they entered the mansion they could see all the members rushing around grabbing various armours and weapons. Anyone who could fight was tooling up, when they entered Ash who was directing the household rushed up to Kyle.


    "Sir there has been a problem."


    "Report what has happened."


    "Sir the boy Chad and one of the children of the guards have been grabbed by a street gang."


    On hearing this the air stilled and a cold and malevolent aura descended, everyone froze feeling like the eyes of an apex predator had appeared on them. Ash, Clara, Miranda, Bruno and One all moved away from Kyle who was exuding this pure and baleful aura.


    "It seems like somebody is looking to burn!"

 75 Chapter 75 CSI

    "It seems like somebody is looking to burn!"


    This was the first time any of them had seen Kyle truly angry. He was generally mild mannered with a little sadistic streak when it came to training but this had crossed his bottom line. Even in his past life he always felt rage when he heard stories of children being hurt and now it happened to one of his people he was fully off the leash.


    While other people would shout and scream with rage Kyle instead became colder and more detached. Thinking for a moment under the fearful gaze of men and women Kyle came up with a plan quickly.


    "Ash I need to know what happened were there any witnesses?"


    "Sir the children went out with the father of Sid the other kid but he was attacked from behind. Even though he tried to resist he was already woozy and couldn''t stand against multiple assailants. Once they had the kids they just knocked him down and scattered. He''s currently in the infirmary with his wife."


    "I''ll go and speak to him now. Ash tell the others to calm down, I want ''shadow hand'' to be armoured with dark leather armour and cloaks and you select the five best fighters from amongst the guards also send a runner to see guard Captain Tobias I want to know if he knows any group that operates like this. One once you have been armoured go and see Lady Sparrow and see if this sounds like anyone she knows of. I''m going to see the father also someone get me some armour that will fit me." Kyle spoke with a quiet voice as he issued commands everyone was dead silent so as soon as he finished everyone began to organise.


    One left for the armoury immediately while Ash went to organise his men a few of the surrounding crowd left to gather ''shadow hand'' and get them prepped. Clara, Miranda and Bruno didn''t know what to do, all this was moving too fast and the way Kyle commanded the adults was shocking. Miranda as the closest to Kyle couldn''t help but ask him.


    "Lord Kyle what should we do?"


    "Currently the adults will be hurrying and preparing could you three organise and care for the youngsters. They look at you like leaders of their generation so keep them calm and let them know the missing members of our family will be back before the end of the day."


    Receiving Kyle direction the 3 hurried away to attend to their duties. Kyle made his way through the halls he noticed a member of ''shadow hand'' rushing to get ready. Thinking of something he called out to the member.


    "Hey you there I just wanted to double check that this won''t have anything to do with your last gang?"


    "It''s very unlikely sir we used to deal with extortion and occasional violence sometimes someone would die but it was an accident. The bosses never had any interest in slavery or kidnapping."


    "Good carry on." Kyle had taken a look through the file Captain Tobias had given him after he had defeated One and his subordinates and this really didn''t seem like the way they operated but it''s always better to check. He could have checked with One but he needed to issue orders even if they weren''t completely thought out. As the man said "it''s sometimes better to run into a wall than not move at all".


    Kyle continued on his way to the infirmary. On entering he could see a man struggling to stand up while being held down by a couple of guards and a woman who was presumably his wife. Kyle knew he would have to take a hard line or else this man wouldn''t listen to reason.


    "WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU ARE DOING?" Kyle shouted as loudly as he could shocking everyone into stillness before the man who was struggling responded.


    "I need to find my kid."


    "What do you think you can do in that state you can barely even stand straight? Let us deal with this you know we won''t let anything happen to them right?" Kyle was harsh at first before asking the second part with a gentler voice.


    "I failed them I couldn''t protect them." As the man spoke he broke down and Kyle knew how guilty he must be feeling. He had stopped struggling and merely hugged his wife who was crying as well. Kyle had never had children in his past life so he couldn''t understand the pain they were feeling but his empathy allowed him to feel a shadow of it.


    "We will bring them home, I swear to you but right now I need any information you remember. Can you describe any of the attackers, weapons, voices just anything you remember."


    "I don''t know they were all dressed in dark clothing, they didn''t speak. I managed to get a good hit on one of them so he was bleeding."


    "Did you see which direction they took the children?"


    "I was a bit dazed but they did run past the nearby tavern, I think that was a south west direction. The tavern is called the rampant beaver."


    Kyle normally would have laughed at this name but right now it didn''t even register.


    "Okay rest up we''ll begin looking for them right away."


    Kyle exited the infirmary and began to think about how to approach this. There was very little evidence as to the culprit so it looked like the best place to start was the crime scene. Walking back to the entrance he found ''shadow hand'' and Ash with his guards were present and ready.


    The rest of the household was standing nearby wanting to know what the situation was, with Zak, Randall and Nettie standing with Ash. On seeing Kyle returning Nettie came forward with a package in her hands.


    "Lord Kyle here is the armour we have been working on for you. Please use it to take vengeance on these beasts." Nettie spoke in an oddly formal tone while Zak and Randall were flanking her as if they had become her guards.


    Kyle took the package and saw the armour he had designed was fully realised.


    "Thank you I will use this to bring justice to these animals. Ash take the guards and secure the site of the attack ''shadow hand'' I need you to inspect the surrounding areas for anything unusual pay particular attention to any blood stains as one of these men was injured. If One or the runner who went to Captain Tobias arrives back inform them as to where we are. Move out."


    As the investigation team headed out Kyle moved to his office to get changed into his armour. Once he was changed he moved out as well under the gazes of his household. Rushing through Kyle managed to catch up to the investigation team just as they were arriving at the battle site.


    It has to be said the guard had put up a hell of a fight even while being incapacitated. There was damage visible all around the area, boxes and bins had been thrown around and smashed. There were also visible sword marks on the walls to show how much he had struggled.


    Looking at the layout of the area Kyle could see three ways in and out, one alley and either end of the road. As this was a kidnapping it was most likely the culprits would have stuck to the back routes so the alley was the most likely route they took. Kyle moved into the alley while the guards stood at either end of the road blocking traffic. The alley was a winding mess but Kyle found blood drops leading away.


    This must have been from assailant as he remembered about how blood drops look when someone is moving under their own volition from various crime shows. He could only hope the details were correct on these.


    Reaching the end of the alley he could see it spread out in two different directions. Moving out he could see a member of ''shadow hand'' looking at something. Kyle approached him and saw an old man sitting there with a bottle in his hand.


    The ''shadow hand'' member looked to Kyle as he approached.


    "Sire this old man says he saw 4 men carrying the children, they headed down the south alley. He also says this isn''t the first time this has happened and we should look at warehouse district 3." On hearing this Kyle looked at the old man, he couldn''t sense any deceit from him so this info was correct as he understood it. Kyle flipped a silver coin to the man before directing the member of ''shadow hand''.


    "Redirect everyone to the warehouse district also see if the guard captain and Lady Sparrow know of any groups active in this specific area I want them found in less than three hours."


    "Yes sir."


    The member of ''shadow hand'' rushed to comply with Kyle''s order while he returned to the blood trail. While this information may be correct it didn''t mean that the kids were at this location. Kyle had decided he would completely destroy this gang as an example to any others who may try to harm his people.


    Somewhere in the warehouse district a middle age man who was observing a crowd of people in a cage felt a shiver down his spine. Looking around he couldn''t find where this sudden chill had come from.


    "Huh must just be my imagination."

 76 Chapter 76 First blood part 1

    "Huh must just be my imagination."


    But this gang leader had been involved in the criminal world for a long time and had survived this long by trusting his instincts. He called out to one of his men who was standing nearby.


    "Oi you call everyone back I want all the men here in less than 30 minutes."


    "Sir what do you mean by all the men shouldn''t we leave some at our businesses?"


    "I mean EVERYONE call them all back and lock this place down."


    The man ran off to follow his orders even though he didn''t know what was happening but it was never a good idea to questions the boss. While he watched the man run off the boss was thinking. This feeling was worse than what he had felt before and if he wasn''t restricted by his current situation he would already be gone.


    Currently he was waiting on a group of powerful and influential people to arrive; these people weren''t just from the local city but had come from several of the nearest hub cities. The hub cities were the commercial and military bases the empire used to forward resources and personnel to the outlying cities.


    New Grange City used to be known as a hub city but once the outer cities were lost to the beasts it had been downgraded to a frontier garrison even though the size and number of people was on par with any of the other hub cities and was only smaller than the imperial capital.


    These people were coming here to take slaves back to their masters but as these were black market slaves there was no law to protect them, also while a slave seal can''t be placed on an unwilling party through torture and coercion this little protection can by bypassed.


    That was the purpose of this facility and why it was placed in this frontier city. Due to a lack of imperial oversight they could operate with almost total autonomy with just a few bribes and threats. However due to the relative power of the people he was waiting for the boss couldn''t just cut and run so he did the next best thing he could which was to turtle up and get ready.


    *****


    Returning to Kyle who was still tracking the blood trail through the dark alleys and byways of the slums. As he was moving through the shadows and dark Kyle was projecting various arrays through his armour and cloak which he was still wearing from earlier.


    He had cast a ''concealment'' array on his cloak so no one could see who was rushing through the dark at this time of night to start with. He was thinking of other things that could help him and looking at how close to the floor he actually was he realised that as he was in a child''s body he would need something to disguise himself which would also be necessary in the future as he worked as Zero of the ''shadow hand''.


    He began to cast an ''illusion'' array on his armour similar to the ones that had disguised the entrances to the lower area of his mansion but this was intended to make his body look around 6 feet tall. He wasn''t worried about the face as the ''concealment'' array would prevent people from seeing who was within the cloak.


    As he ran a black cloud began to coalesce around him giving form to his ''illusion'', a few drunks who were stumbling through the alleys saw this living darkness rushing along and ended up quivering in a corner hugging each other in their inebriation.


    Kyle didn''t worry about these guys as no one would believe them even if they remembered what they saw when they woke up. Kyle finished up his arrays and was pleased to note the ''illusion'' worked better than expected.


    It felt like he was raised up and was wearing a leotard or something. It took him a few minutes to get used to the layout of this body but that was to be expected as he had suddenly shot up a couple of feet and his arms were now quite a bit longer.


    Carrying on following the trail Kyle eventually reached an area which looked as though someone had thrown out some water and washed away the blood trail. Kyle looked around on the dry areas and couldn''t see anything. If he couldn''t pick up the trail he would have to join his men a t the warehouse district and just hope they could find the correct zone.


    Moving along the alley Kyle was hoping that he would pick up the trail again. As he was focusing it appeared his mind and mana had a better idea and he was suddenly assailed by an increase in sounds and smells. They hadn''t increased in volume and potency rather he was able to sense them more than he could a moment ago.


    Kyle knew he was treading new territory with the way he was cultivating and evolving his body but he never expected this. Quickly checking himself he found that the node in the back of his brain was sending mana to a couple of sub-nodes similarly to when he experienced an increase in his reflexes.


    This node appeared to govern more than the body''s reflexes it may be better to say it governed perception or just senses in general. While Kyle could smell and hear more it was controlled and he could focus on a specific thing, so returning to where he had lost the trail Kyle sniffed the air and could easily detect the scent of blood.


    Following this scent he followed down the alley before turning left into a smaller and darker area with multiple doors opening out onto it. Currently none of these doors were open so Kyle carried on following the scent.


    Kyle eventually reached one of the doors and using his enhanced hearing he was able to detect 3 people within. One of whom appeared to be dragging his leg; this was probably the injured man. Still listening he could hear them moving towards the door so Kyle moved away slightly into the darkness.


    He could have stood behind the door but that would be stupid so he instead waited in the shadows produced by some light that was spilling from the nearby buildings. The door was flung open by one of the men who began speaking hoarsely to the men behind him.


    "Look I don''t care the boss wants everyone there. You can get that stitched up later but if you ain''t there he''ll tear all of us a new one."


    The one who spoke was obviously the leader of this little crew and while grumbling the other 2 exited as well.


    "Hey it ain''t my fault who knew those brats had a bodyguard with em."


    "Yeah why was he so hard to put down? He shoulda gone down with the first hit but he just kept comin."


    "Look I don''t care and neither does the boss. He''s got clients comin by and he don''t want no problems. So we are gonna make sure nobody get''s near and come mornin all the kids will be outta the city. Then we can get you stuck back together but not till then."


    On hearing what they were saying Kyle knew they were running out of time. If they managed to ship the kids out of the city it would be much harder to track them until it became impossible. Without permission from the imperial overseer they couldn''t close the gates and it isn''t like he would close the gates just for some commoner so it was up to Kyle and his men.


    Quietly drawing his sword Kyle decided he needed to dispatch these three before they got to their destination. He would keep the leader alive for a minute so he could get the information he needed but after that he would have no use.


    Kyle shook slightly as he made this decision but quickly used his willpower and belief that this had to be done to calm himself. Moving silently and quickly Kyle approached the injured man who was slightly trailing behind the others. Pulling his sword back he grabbed the man covering his mouth and drove his sword upwards at about a 60 degree angle passing through the man''s diaphragm and puncturing his lung.


    The man had no chance to struggle or cry out before his lung was punctured meaning even if he wanted to he couldn''t make any noise. Kyle pushed a little more on the sword and pushed the blade into the man''s heart and within 15 seconds he collapsed.


    Kyle lowered the man to the ground and moved up to the other two. He took out the other thug in the same way he took down the injured one but quicker as he made the stab in one motion penetrating his heart. Moving to the leader he could hear him talking.


    "So when we get there don''t say nothin about the last collection. I''ve already spoken to the others and they know to keep their mouths shut. We don''t know why they had a guard so just in case we''ll deny any knowledge. Also if anyone asks about your leg just say a dog bit you."


    Kyle didn''t let the man continue and just slammed the butt of his sword into the back of his head to knock him out. The man stiffened before falling on his face. Kyle started grabbing the men and dragged them back into the house they had exited from, now comes the part he wasn''t looking forward to the interrogation and if the leader didn''t answer his questions he would have to torture him.


    "This is going to be a long night."

 77 Chapter 77 We will rock you

    "This is going to be a long night."


    As Kyle was dragging the downed men into the broken down house he was thinking of how he could get the leader to talk. While he wasn''t squeamish as such, but the idea of pulling nails and breaking bones was beyond him currently.


    He felt bad for the act of killing these men but not for killing them specifically as he knew they had kidnapped children and must have done much worse. This feeling of validation and regret was in part due to the things he had seen reported in his past life and the strength of his soul in this one.


    Running through what he knew of torture techniques and interrogation (mostly from movies) he felt the best he could do would be water boarding. He had seen this used in movies and had heard things about it on the news so he knew it would work.


    What followed was 30 minutes of torture with a confession as to location, relative strength and some facts about who the clients were. Kyle finished this with another stab to the heart. While he could dismember these men Kyle had promised the leader to leave their bodies intact.


    Before he left the house Kyle organised a little warning for anyone who would have plans for the people of the slums before he set of to the warehouse district. As he approached the warehouse district Kyle began to see a few of his men getting ready on station a little way away from the zone. Kyle hadn''t told them where to meet so he was glad that someone had the intelligence to give them a location.


    Approaching the gathering Kyle saw both Ash and One had already arrived. All the guards were already present and ''shadow hand'' was only waiting on 2 members including the man he used as a messenger. Dropping his ''illusion'' Kyle greeted the gathering.


    "Okay men I have the location and approximate number of enemies. We are in for a fight as the enemy is calling back all of his men. One do you have anyone who knows this area?"


    "Yes sir Three used to run a small time gambling den out of here before they got shut down."


    "Do you know who it was who shut them down?"


    "Yes it was a crew called the ''silver sovereign''."


    "Did that crew deal with slaves or kidnapping?"


    "No sir they were mostly involved with drugs and gambling. They were more recreational criminals so unless they have expanded their areas of interest this is someone else."


    As they were talking the last members of ''shadow hand'' arrived. So the member known as Three lead them through the warehouse area. As a former thief and conman Three knew all the ways in and out of the district so they got around the few groups who were patrolling the outside.


    Once the group had reached a relatively safe area Kyle began to issue instructions. Although he had no prior military training just the little he knew from history put him head and shoulders above everyone here, his people and the enemy included.


    Looking over the warehouse Kyle saw that it was a large brick building with a small door on the side wall and a larger door at the end. There were no windows which made sense as why would they want people to be able to see into their illegal operations.


    Looking for a way in Kyle noticed that there were skylights in the roof which should be his way in. Kyle wanted to get to the slaves/hostages first so they could either be released or protected when they stormed the building.


    "Okay One you and Five will come with me, our purpose is to reach the slaves and secure them in any way we can. Ash you and the guards will storm the building when you hear the fighting start. The rest of ''shadow hand'' will wait for 30 seconds after the guards attack the front before entering the side door. Remember this isn''t a fair fight they outnumber us so don''t get pulled into drawn out fights. Keep it fast and keep it dirty these men don''t warrant honourable combat. I want no escapees and no survivors. Am I understood?"


    "Yes sir."


    The men wanted to shout their response but due to circumstance all they could do was to put their heart into their answer. Both the guards and ''shadow hand'' wanted to prove themselves but they also didn''t want to let Kyle down so they got into position.


    Kyle climbed up a down pipe which was attached to the wall of the warehouse closely followed by One and Five. Luckily this world hadn''t developed plastics so the pipe was metal and could support their weight without any problems.


    They slowly moved to one of the open skylights and Kyle peeked his head over the top. With his strengthened senses Kyle was able to pick up around 40 men within. This wasn''t fully precise as he was using his hearing to detect the men and if they weren''t moving or were standing closely together his sense may be thrown out.


    Looking down Kyle could see a catwalk about 8 feet below them. Unlike our world this catwalk was made of timber so if they dropped onto it the sound should be largely deadened. On the catwalk 6 men were patrolling.


    These men appeared to be tired and bored so they had begun to let their guard down. Looking further within the warehouse Kyle could see stacks of boxes crowding around making small and obscured aisles which would normally suit the enemy as it would make it difficult to rush them but in this case it would give Kyle and his team ample cover to get where they needed to be.


    In a corner of the building was a cage of about 3 meters by 3 meters and within were about 20 children of different ages. While the building had some light from some lamps around the wall there was almost no direct light in this corner.


    When Kyle trained his senses on this patch of darkness Kyle was able to pick up maybe 4 different enemies present. Deciding it was time to move Kyle reactivated his ''illusion'' surprising One and Five before dropping onto the catwalk.


    Where they dropped on side of the catwalk had 4 men and the other had 2 so Kyle sent One and Five to deal with the 2 while he went after the rest. One and Five were carrying some of the short swords that were found in the ancient armoury and dispatched their targets easily. One grabbed his target from behind and slit his throat. While he was doing this Five silently rushed past him and much like Kyle did covered his targets mouth and stabbed his target in the heart lowering him down.


    Kyle moved through his side like a shadow, every strike went to the heart except for the last man who had begun to turn back towards Kyle so he accelerated and jammed his sword through his lower jaw directly into his brain.


    One and Five who had watched as Kyle moved through the enemy and felt a cold rush down their backs. How could this man in child form kill with such skill and ferocity? Even Kyle had noticed the detachment he felt when fighting these men and began to worry for what this meant for him.


    This was a worry for another time however and instead they should focus on rescuing these people first. With the catwalk clear Kyle and the others made their way along as quietly as possible.


    They saw a few enemy guards sitting around talking and playing cards while they waited for any indications of intruders. In the opposite corner from the cage they were moving towards Kyle could see a well lit office with several men present who Kyle guessed were the clients and the leader of this little crew.


    Ignoring them for the moment Kyle carried on leading the way to the cage to free their people. The spread of the guards was completely useless, except for a few places the guards were unable to see each other so on the way Kyle, One and Five were able to take out 2 more guards.


    Kyle didn''t try to hide the bodies as within moments all hell would be breaking loose. When they were close to the cage Kyle held up his hand indicating a stop as he looked around trying to find the hidden enemies.


    Hidden may be an exaggeration as all they had done was sit on boxes slightly in the shadows. The most worrying thing was that all four had loaded crossbows but these were only held loosely with the tips aiming downwards.


    Each guard was on one side of the cage ready to fire if any of the slaves/prisoners tried to escape. Kyle tapped One on the shoulder and pointed at one of the guards while indicating a roundabout route and did the same with Five while indicating they shouldn''t move until he did. He could only hope they understood his meaning before he moved to his first target.


    Keeping a watch out Kyle reached his man at about the same time Five did while One took slightly longer as he had a longer route. Once they were in position Kyle used his hand to give a countdown and on 1 he jabbed his sword through the enemy''s neck essentially making him a meat shield while grabbing the crossbow and firing it at the last enemies head.


    The last guard didn''t get a chance to even react before a bolt took him in the eye dropping him instantly. Looking back Kyle was pleased to see One and Five had taken out their respective targets silently.


    They approached the cage and could see many fearful eyes looking at them. Kyle had retrieved the keys from the guard he had killed so he opened the cage looking for his people.


    Chad was sitting in a corner supporting another young boy. This boy was Theo the son of the guardsman. Chad was trying to calm the boy down as he knew that his big brother Kyle would come for them. When they saw the shadow men taking down the guards silently Theo became afraid but Chad knew these would be Kyle''s men.


    On seeing One both Theo and Chad were ecstatic as they knew he was the leader of ''shadow hand''. Kyle noticed them at the same time they noticed One so he quickly approached them. The other children shied away as this unknown man with a hidden face began to move through them. When Kyle reached Theo and Chad he ruffled Chad''s hair like he had done before he spoke out.


    "Well done now can you keep the others quiet while we sort out the bad guys?"


    Chad on hearing his big bro''s voice coming from this unknown figure was at first surprised but then like many others just chalked this up to being just Kyle.


    "Yes big bro we''ll keep calm and quiet."


    "Good boy, One grab those crossbows Five see if you can find anymore nearby. I''m going to go cause some havoc." Kyle smiled as he said the last part before disappearing into the darkness.


    One watched his lord go before jumping to action with Five following just behind while Chad began to speak to the other children in the cage.


    "Don''t worry these are the good guys they''re here to save us."


    While the others were sceptical they chose to believe in Chad''s words because it wasn''t like they could do anything else and when they saw One positioning the crossbows so he could fire down the aisles and Five returning with an armful loaded with crossbows and bolts they began to hope.


    Kyle silently moved towards a location he had spied from the catwalk which had 6 or 7 people around playing cards and talking. It was far enough away from the cage it should draw the guards away so he decided to make an entrance here.


    Climbing up one of the stacks of boxes Kyle got ready before he leapt of and landed right in the centre kicking one on the way down for good measure.


    "LET''S ROCK!!"

 78 Chapter 78 Everyone was kung fu fighting

    "LET''S ROCK!!"


    Kyle boosted his voice with mana as he shouted this as he wanted all the attention from the enemies on him and away from the captured children. The men who were loitering around took a second to react to this dark cloaked figure shouting so loudly in a child''s voice. Who wouldn''t need a moment in this situation after all, when the man Kyle had kicked during his freefall crashed into the boxes behind it seemed to wake the men up and they started shouting and attacking.


    "WHO ARE YOU?"


    "HOW DID YOU GET IN HERE?"


    "WHAT''S GOING ON WITH YOUR VOICE?"


    These were all valid questions but Kyle wasn''t interested in giving any answers and began an epic beat down. Kyle hadn''t drawn his sword yet as he needed more noise and chaos to draw more enemies towards him.


    Kyle was fully letting himself loose and was grabbing arms and legs as they were coming towards him and using them as leverage so he could get clean kicks to the heads and chests of the men who were approaching.


    As he was outnumbered Kyle needed to use the enemies'' numbers against them and the best way to do that was to turn them into weapons for his use. Kyle had begun to infuse a small amount of mana throughout his sub-nodes to give him an edge, so when one of the men tried to kick him from behind Kyle sensed his action and grabbed his foot before pirouetting while still holding his leg giving him some good momentum to throw him with force into a another group who were approaching from one of the aisles.


    Another tried to punch him in the face so Kyle caught his fist pulled it around towards his waist before dropping an elbow to his forearm breaking it. The man dropped to the floor and Kyle used him like a puck and kicked him along the floor tripping up another few men. This was looking like a kung fu movie until men started appearing with weapons. When he saw the armed men Kyle kicked it up a notch and began using the boxes around to avoid the strikes.


    One of the men rushed at Kyle with a great sword fully intending to split Kyle from head to groin, Kyle pulled over a middle sized box into the man''s way halting him before Kyle sprung over the box successfully planting both feet solidly in his chest launching him into the day after tomorrow with a satisfying crunch.


    *****


    Ash and his men were waiting for Kyle to start the party but it had been a while now. There was currently no noise so Ash didn''t think they had been found yet but he couldn''t help worrying for Kyle as he was still just a kid regardless of how smart and strong he was.


    Ash looked at the men who were around him and saw his worry mirrored in their faces. One of the men spoke to Ash once he couldn''t take the pressure anymore.


    "Sir is the Lord okay? Should we go in now?"


    "No Lord Kyle will be fine just trust in him okay."


    While Ash reassured his men he couldn''t help but look at the building again and said a silent prayer when suddenly "LET''S ROCK" echoed through the air.


    Shocked at the sudden sound Ash took a moment to respond before a grin broke his face.


    "I guess that''s the sneaky part of the mission over LET''S GO."


    With that they headed to their job''s ''shadow hand'' moved to the side entrance while the ''death watch'' members rushed to the large doors. They didn''t have to open these full doors as within one side was a smaller access door which was still big enough for all of them to get through.


    Entering the building they could hear the sounds of fighting a little way away so Ash led the way towards the battle when all of a sudden they heard it.


    "WAAHHHH."


    This was the sound of an enemy being somehow launched through the air and hitting the wooden catwalk above before dropping unconsciously to the floor below. The catwalk was an impressive 4 meters above them and the man was fully grown so Ash couldn''t help but exclaim.


    "HOW THE HELL??"


    Which was mirrored by the other men around. Shaking themselves from their stupor they made their way through the maze of boxes. As they got closer they started encountering more guards and a series of short brutal battles began.


    Ash rushed up to one of the enemies who was moving cautiously towards the battle and just gave a large strike to his back killing him with no fuss. As Kyle said this wasn''t a fair fight so they shout take any advantage they have. The others were also following this same line of thinking and felt no qualms attacking the enemy from the flank.


    Gradually Ash and the ''death watch'' managed to get to Kyle and saw an unknown man in a cloak blocking 3 large men who looked like they would be captains of this gang. While Ash didn''t know who this man was for certain, the way he moved and attacked reminded him of Kyle''s style so he moved in to help by slashing at one of the men''s side.


    The man seemed to sense the attack and so he disengaged from Kyle to defend himself. This took the pressure off Kyle who may be OP but was still struggling with these 3 as their cultivation was much higher and they were using everything they had.


    Kyle was able to defend himself using his martial arts but gradually they were able to push him back and pressure him. With Ash distracting one of them Kyle had more room to manoeuvre, so with a quick back step he allowed the enemy to over extend themselves and using a box behind him as a kicking off point he managed to land a flying spin kick to one of the men''s chin shaking his brain effectively knocking him out.


    This left the other man who seemed to have gone nuts with red eyes and bulging veins. This man looked like he was in a full roid rage(don''t do drugs) and was wheezing and huffing like he was going to have a heart attack at any moment.


    Before Kyle or the man could act however a sword took his head from behind. It was Dylan who was with the rescue team. Kyle was glad his men were with him and thought to himself ''who wants to fight alone all the time?''


    Dylan gave Kyle a big smile while looking around, there were bodies everywhere some alive more not so much. Ash was still fighting but the enemy was losing handily and with a quick strike to his stomach he was done.


    Ash looked at Kyle with a question in his eyes before asking one word.


    "Kyle?"


    "Yup how do I look? Good right."


    Kyle decided that they should finish this up so he, Dylan and Ash ranged out helping the out finish up the other fights. Kyle moved towards the side entrance and saw that ''shadow hand'' were all still standing but as they weren''t as strong as ''death watch'' yet they were a bit more roughed up but nothing a little cultivation won''t cure.


    Kyle''s next stop was the cage and he saw several enemies on the ground with crossbow bolts sticking out of various places before *thunk* a bolt was lodged just a little away from his head. Looking to the source he saw a shame faced Five waiving nervously saying.


    "Sorry I couldn''t see you properly."


    "Don''t worry about it, we''re almost done so grab the kids and head for the side door they don''t need to see what happens next."


    One had appeared on hearing Kyle''s voice so he began ushering the kids along with Five and Chad''s help. Kyle headed towards the office he had seen previously with ''death watch'' gradually emerging to join with him.


    When they reached the office they found four men standing with weapons at the ready. One of these men was obviously the boss of the gang as he was covered in tattoos and was wearing clothing which bespoke a complete lack of taste. Two of the others appeared to be guards of the last man due to standing slightly in front of him and wearing heavy armour. The last man appeared to be from a prominent family due to his clothing and jewellery and aura.


    "How dare you interrupt my business?" The boss spat at them while looking at his client from the corner of his eye hoping he would help him. The noble was looking at Kyle and his entourage before he spoke to them with a lisp.


    "Why are you here do you wish to go against my family." He was obviously looking down on Kyle and his men so he dragged his family out without even saying their name so Kyle decided to screw with him. He spoke while trying to make his voice sound gravelly and with the ''concealment'' array active it made his voice sound like a crotchety old man.


    "So who is your family?"


    "I''m an elder of the noble Peridot family so leave before I destroy you." He spoke as if everything was in his hands and had total belief they would follow his words.


    "Really gotta say I''ve never heard of you and you ain''t from this city but you wanted to buy illegal slaves from here so time to pay the tax."


    "What tax are you talking about?"


    "Quite simple really you wanted to hurt kids so now you die." With this Kyle finally lashed out with his sword. Before the man''s guards could even react they had already been bisected. Dropping to the ground the guards only left there master standing behind them with a shocked look on his face.


    "You can''t, you can''t I refuse to believe you can hurt me." But this was short lived as Ash was the one to take his head leaving only the boss standing but he was now shaking as he knew he was next on the chopping block.


    "Wait I can give you money, women anything you want just do..." before he could finish Dylan had finished him. Kyle looked around before giving his orders.


    "Search this place top to bottom, for this scum to work openly like this they have to have some backing so grab anything you find. I''m going to arrange a warning for anyone else doing this. Saying this Kyle grabbed the bosses'' corpse and headed out of the room while the rest watched his lonely figure heading into the dark warehouse. Dylan spoke to himself as he saw him walk out of sight.


    "Remind me never to get on his bad side....again."

 79 Chapter 79 Too much?

    "Remind me never to get on his bad side....again."


    Damn Dylan is a nice guy but he really isn''t packing much above the neck was the consensus among those present. Seeing the looks he was receiving Dylan thought that maybe he should make an exit stage left, but before he could leave with what was left of his pride Ash came up to him and placed his hand on his shoulder in a fatherly manner before saying.


    "Don''t worry Dylan you''ll always be on someone''s bad side."


    On seeing Dylan''s crestfallen look everyone began to laugh before Ash clapped his hands to get their attention.


    "Alright you heard the man I want this place fully turned over, any files, funds or anything we can use grab it. Search the bodies and strip them we don''t want to make it easy to identify them."


    With this everyone started tearing the place apart looking for anything useful. Kyle was making his way to the front of the warehouse caught up in his own thoughts. This was the first time he had killed anyone in any life and yet he couldn''t find it within himself to mourn their passing, they were bad and vile people but they were still alive. Why didn''t he feel anything if not for them at least for the action he took?


    Does this make him a villain or an evil person? Kyle didn''t think so as he could still empathise and cared for his own people but these guys it was as if by taking action against him he no longer saw them as people.


    As Kyle was dragging the body behind him he had grabbed some rope and a pen paper and a leftover crossbow bolt he found down one of the aisles. While he was suffering from his extensional crisis he carried on working.


    He was planning to make something so terrifying it would push the other gangs back so ''shadow hand'' could gain a secure foothold in the slums. Reaching the entrance Kyle began his work to start with he wrote a letter and using the bolt he stabbed it into the bosses chest, tying a piece of the rope to one of his wrists he threw the other end over a bracket near the door allowing it to drape to the floor before he tied the other wrist and threw the rope over another bracket opposite the first.


    Once the ropes had been draped over the brackets Kyle grabbed both ends of the rope and drew them together before hoisting the bosses body up in the air in a T pose. The man was quite heavy but as Kyle was using the brackets as leverage his lower weight wasn''t an issue. Once the body had been correctly posed Kyle tied off the rope and let it go. The boss''s body gave a jarring lurch as the rope raised a meter or so before the knot caught holding the body above the entrance like a horrible parody of a Christmas decoration.


    Kyle returned in and saw Ash and the crew had been busy and had already gathered all the bodies and the loose parts in a big pile of horrid nakedness. They were currently rooting through a few other areas but the office and a few other suspicious places had been thoroughly turned over already. They didn''t have the time or inclination to search all the boxes and as this area was still within the Powell''s area of control the full search could be left to the families guards. He dropped his ''illusion'' as he was looking around.


    Ash walked over to Kyle and looked him over. Out of everyone Ash understood that Kyle was still a child regardless of how smart he was and he feared this may cause him some problems later.


    "Hi boss just remember these men were no better than beasts. You only did what was proper given the situation."


    Kyle looked to Ash before giving him a sad half smile.


    "You haven''t seen the end yet, you should save your consolation until you know what I believe is necessary."


    Leaving a worried Ash, Kyle headed over to some of the documents which had been placed on the desk while they were getting ready. Kyle opened the folder on top and found it was a list of bills and contracts. Kyle was looking through this and it was a pretty straight forward ledger of sales and funds.


    ''A76 Salt 1t = 200s ongoing''


    ''B12 Meat 500kgs = 360s complete''


    ''C8 Fabric 20 reams = 2g complete''


    ''A40 F Toys 50 units = 500g ongoing''


    ''B7 A Ore 40kgs = 50g cancelled''


    It appeared that the letter and number combination at the start was a client number with a description of the items and their unit of purchase and cost and finally the status of the order. Amongst the other files was probably a list of clients related to their designations and an inventory list somewhere.


    Looking at the list again Kyle could see something out of place, it was the f toys what were they and why were they so expensive. There was only one thing he could think of and it made his hands begin to shake.


    If these men saw their captives as nothing more than a commodity to be bought and sold as needed they would have to keep a record of their dealings and this may be it. But what made Kyle begin to shake in anger was the number 50 they had found about 20 kids here but were these the first or were they too late and the rest had already been lost.


    As Kyle was standing there feeling his rage building one of the ''death watch'' came into the office to place some more paperwork with the rest. He paused when he entered as he saw Kyle standing there with such a strange look on his face. To him it looked as though Kyle was halfway between crying and screaming but couldn''t do either.


    Thinking that he should do something he approached Kyle before clearing his throat so he didn''t startle him.


    *cough,cough*


    "Excuse me sir are you alright?"


    Kyle looked up at the man and for a moment the man held his breath. The look Kyle had directed to him made him feel terrible, it was a mix of anger and rage but beneath that was an abyssal feeling of regret.


    It was a look he had only seen on some survivors of beast attacks as they felt they had let those who died down somehow, regardless of how hard or bravely they had fought. If he told Kyle this he would be able to identify it as survivor guilt but here they could only struggle alone.


    "Yes I''m fine I just found out something and I hope to all the gods I''m wrong. If I''m not I will find out the culprits and make them wish I would let them die."


    Kyle only spoke quietly but as he spoke his voice took on an edge which made the man feel the only thing he could do for his Lord''s targets was to wish them a quick end. Kyle put away his regret and other negative thoughts at the moment as it wasn''t the time to mull this over and instead they needed to move.


    "Okay everyone pack it up, I want everyone out the side door and move the kids away from the front I don''t want them seeing up there get moving."


    With Kyle''s call everyone gave up the search and instead grabbed what they had found and headed outside. While they were exiting Kyle headed back to the front, he was quickly joined by Dylan and Ash who were carrying bundles on their backs containing what they had found.


    "What we doing boss?" Dylan asked innocently while Ash was again looking at Kyle with a little worry creasing his brow.


    "I''m just going to make a statement." Ash replied before heading out.


    Once they were outside Dylan and Ash looked around but could see nothing Dylan turned back but suddenly his eyes grew wide and he gasped. Ash seeing Dylan''s reaction turned as well expecting an enemy but was instead greeted by the strung up gang leader.


    Why did Kyle do this? Ash was beginning to worry but then he noticed the note attached to the body. Kyle said he was making a statement so that was probably what it was about, but why were the back here?


    "Okay both of you head over to those boxes." Kyle indicated before he took a stance, once Dylan and Ash had retreated far enough away Kyle launched himself at a 45 degree angle to the gate before using his velocity to leap off; reaching the body as he was moving away Kyle slashed the gut of the body allowing the guts and innards to spill out creating a horrendous stench. As Kyle was already moving away from the body because of his jump none of the viscera managed to touch him.


    Ash on seeing how Kyle moved knew why he had them move out of the splash zone. Even at this distance the smell was terrible but as Ash and Dylan were soldiers previously they were not overly affected by it. Instead they were both worried for their lord but they weren''t scared of him.


    "That''s it let''s head home."

 80 Chapter 80 Second guessing

    "That''s it let''s head home."


    Kyle reactivated his ''illusion'' before leading the way to where ''shadow hand'' and the kids were waiting. After meeting up they headed out of the zone while avoiding the roving guard patrols but it wasn''t like this was difficult even with a group as large as theirs had become because stupidly the guard teams were walking around with lanterns showing their locations.


    After they had returned to the slum district Kyle called a halt and had everyone circle around him as he needed to organise what to do.


    "Okay how many of you know where you parents are?"


    With this all but five had put up their hands Theo amongst them while Chad didn''t raise his hand. Seeing that the problem would be smaller than he originally feared Kyle thought for a moment before he spoke to Ash.


    "Did we get any gold from the warehouse?"


    "Yes sir around 1000 pieces."


    "Good give each of the children returning to their parents 20 pieces. Kids you can''t tell anyone about us just say you were saved by a group called the ''shadow hand'' can you do that?"


    All the children assented when they heard Kyle''s question so he quickly divided the gold and gave the kids their shares. While this was going on a couple of the kids who didn''t know where their parents were began to become nervous, finally one of them couldn''t hold it anymore and asked.


    "Excuse me sir what will happen to me?"


    Hearing this the others perked up their ears as they wanted to know their fate as well. As orphans they had been abused and seen the worst and this was the first time someone had extended a hand to help them. While Chad had his sister and wasn''t in as bad a condition as the others he had seen things so he feared for them as well. Kyle looked towards them with his face still concealed but spoke with a reassuring voice.


    "Don''t worry you''ll come with us and we''ll take care of you until you''re old enough to choose what you want to do for yourselves."


    The kids thought about this but it couldn''t be much worse than they had already suffered so they would give it a shot and if the worst comes to pass they could always run. Finally the dividing of the coins was completed and Kyle wanted to get home.


    "Okay One you and your men get these kids home, everyone else let''s get back we need to stop worrying everyone."


    They began to rush back with the ''death watch'' carrying the other kids while Kyle ran in his larger form while they stuck to the shadows and alleys. Reaching the estate Kyle felt he could let his ''illusion'' drop. The kids who saw this were amazed while Chad was awestruck. While Chad wanted to rush over and talk to Kyle he was stopped by Ash who was still watching Kyle with worry creasing his brow still.


    They weren''t stopped once the guards saw Kyle leading them and they made it back to the mansion just as One and his men caught up to them. On entering the mansion they were surprised to see the rest of the household was still up and waiting for them.


    Seeing they had returned everyone began to cheer and laugh while Kyle just shrunk away from this life and light and managed to slink away in the direction of the infirmary as he wanted to check on Elena before he turned in. Once the adrenaline and combat high he had during the combat and the subsequent escape had passed, he began to think about his actions and if he could have done anything different. The truth was he believed he had done what was necessary one to introduce the world to ''shadow hand'' as some kind of bogey man and two to try and prevent the same thing happening again at least in his family''s area of control.


    Reaching the infirmary a tired Kyle moved towards Elena to check her condition but was accosted by the guardsman and his wife.


    "Sir how''s my boy if he okay?" The guardsman asked while his wife was close on his heels with fear and expectation on her face.


    "He''s fine they should be here in a minute or two I just wanted to check on Elena before they got here."


    Hearing Kyle''s response the guardsman and his wife hugged and began to cry. Kyle decided not to intrude and quickly inspected Elena before he left. She was fine although it appeared she wouldn''t wake up until later tomorrow now.


    Kyle left once he was satisfied and took a more roundabout route to the second floor and his bedroom. He couldn''t explain why but he wanted to be alone for the moment so he could properly dissect what he had done. In this current life and his past he had never killed anyone and he had never been in any form of military so he didn''t have the training to deal with something like this. Plus the actions he took with the torture and desecration to get information and to make a point respectively weighed heavily on his sensibilities.


    Children in this world are taught early they need to do whatever is necessary as such the cost of a life is low but this memory and attitude was at odds with Kyle''s feelings and it created a sense of discord within him.


    Once he reached his bedroom Kyle cultivated for a little while so he could calm down a little. For others cultivation is some strange mystic practice which requires the correct mindset to progress or to even begin, but for Kyle it was merely a process of storing and using energy even if there were still some mystical parts to it. By focusing on this process Kyle was able to drop his thoughts and fears for a while and solely directed his attention to this.


    After a little while Kyle came out from his cultivation before showering and brushing his teeth so he could go to bed. Even though he hadn''t eaten this evening he didn''t feel hungry and even the thought of food made him feel nauseous.


    Lying on his back Kyle closed his eyes and unlike other days he didn''t try to plan the next day or what objectives he wished to achieve. Instead when he closed his eyes he began to see the faces off the men he had killed that night.


    The faces where screaming at him and gradually they began to surround him. Two figures stepped out and began to move slowly towards him. The first had an open wound in his chest with blood continuously flowing out from it, the figures face was covered by a towel dripping with water. This figure didn''t speak but instead it made chocking and sputtering sounds while it occasionally twitched and shuddered.


    The other figure was more far more gruesome, it was the boss of the gang and like the other figure it had a wound in its chest but rather than having a towel over its face instead the stomach was sliced open. The intestines and other organs had spilled out and were being dragged behind it as it approached.


    As the crowd of figures approached Kyle began to be scared and crouched down before a murmur was heard. Gradually it grew louder and he began to hear words being spoken.


    "Join us, join us." They repeated over and over until Kyle wanted nothing more than to scream but nothing he did could produce any noise.


    As they approached the faces of the crowd began to change, he saw the faces of those in his household and his parents, people he had noticed as he walked through the city and others he didn''t know but somehow felt familiar. The faces changed constantly but they always marched forward getting closer and closer while diminishing the area around him to nothing but darkness.


    The figures were finally within reach of him and one of their cold dead hands finally gripped his shoulder. Finally Kyle screamed out only to find a terrified Miranda retreating from him with a tray in her hands. Kyle sat up as it appeared it was only a dream but it showed that as calm as he usually was this was just too much to deal with in a short space of time. He put his head in his hands and tried to calm down. As he was still breathing heavily he was surprisingly embraced by a warm and comforting feeling.


    Miranda had got over her initial shock at Kyle''s scream and seeing him in distress did the only thing she could think of which was to hug him like her mother did for her. Kyle was a little embarrassed being comforted by someone he could only see as a child but he was thankful never the less.


    "Thank you Miranda I''m fine now." Kyle said looking at Miranda who was bright red but who also had bloodshot eyes. It looked as though seeing Kyle in pain had caused her a great deal of pain herself.


    "Yes sir, I brought some soup if you would like. I''ll leave it over here for you if you want it." Saying her piece she retreated from the room leaving Kyle with his thoughts.


    "I no good at this."

 81 Chapter 81 A little history

    "I no good at this."


    Kyle lamented what he had done and now there was little chance that he would be able to sleep. He had too many thoughts rattling around in his mind and he was fearful that all that awaited him on returning to the fields of dreams would be more horror and trauma. He would need to find a way to settle his mind but for now he needed a distraction.


    Looking around his room he noticed the journal he found in the mansions library. When he came back from the library he had brought the journal with him and left it on his bedside table but hadn''t looked at it any further.


    Kyle leaned over and picked up the journal and looked at the first page. He could understand a fair amount of the words as they appeared to be the same as those which were currently in use or were close enough he could interpret their meaning, some however were completely foreign to him.


    The book didn''t have the name of the author in it and there didn''t appear to be any kind of date system in place. It appeared to be a personal journal and as such it didn''t need anything like that instead it would be intended for reminding the owner of events that had happened in his life during time of interest or strife.


    Kyle glad of the distraction propped himself up and began reading from the first page. It was obvious this wasn''t the first journal the person had written so maybe there were others in the library somewhere unless the owner had taken them when they had left the mansion.


    ''What a bad day it was today, the supervisor was picking on *****. I don''t know what his problem was we''ve been working on the [connection/network] for months now and suddenly he''s pushing for results when we already told him we are months or years away from it being complete but there''s no reasoning with him. All the [hubs/links] have already been completed but we don''t have the ***** to make it function properly, unless we find some kind of solution to this problem we will never complete it.


    We lost contact with one of the western zones today, it''s probably due to a lack of [care/attention] of the *****. I''m sure they''ll be in touch before long asking for help, I bet they''ll send a [technician/sage] to fix it from ***** but who cares as long as I don''t get called up. I''ve heard the western zones are nothing but beasts and birds with nothing else of interest. Stupid westerners don''t even know how to maintain their *****. I''ve also got a date today with ***** I was surprised when [they/it] said yes, I''ve got to put up my A game or ***** may slip in there and I don''t want to get there second.''


    Kyle was surprised by the similarity between this person and people of nowadays. It seemed the hate for your boss and the hope to get a date were universal. Kyle struggled a bit with this and some words could mean different things but he managed to get an overall feel for the context and content so he was able to discern the majority of the meaning.


    ''We still haven''t got in contact with ***** and the [technician/sage] who was dispatched hasn''t reported in yet. A [legion/gang] has been dispatched from ***** with a portable ***** and has been ordered to make contact once they are nearby. ***** thinks there is something going on over there but I bet him that it was just a ***** with the *****, when I win I''ll take ***** to dinner. I wonder if I should make a booking now or wait until the money comes in.


    Supervisor ***** has been coming up more frequently since the word came back from ***** the situation over there is bad. They''ve seen a lot more of the ***** since the fall but we''re holding them up at the line. Word on the [line/vine] is we''re going to be reinforcing ***** with ***** but I think that is going too far, the damage from a single use of ***** would be devastating.''


    As Kyle was reading he began to get more interested in what was being said as it appeared as though whatever the ancients fought wasn''t some invincible enemy and they had successfully held it at bay for an unknown period of time.


    ''We are still holding but we need more and more [warriors/soldiers] but we have no time to train them. Word from on high is to find other [opportunities/means] of creating them, there are a few ideas amongst the ***** but I don''t know how they would work. With all this going on I bit the [leather/crop] and asked ***** to [marry/join] me. We need to set some time aside but I don''t know when we can but the [ceremony/ritual] will be done soon.


    We''ve lost 3 more [villages/towns] and we have rebuilt the front at the next [checkpoint/border]. I''ve been assigned to ***** and we are getting somewhere, the ***** has shown great results. They aren''t as powerful as our [warriors/soldiers] but they are far more numerous. We need a more effective means to fight the ***** or they''ll just keep pushing us back.''


    It appeared that at this point the ancients had begun to lose ground to their enemy but they still had some tricks up their sleeves but Kyle wanted to know what had shown great results. It must have been some kind of mass produced weapon but what it was and how it even functioned wasn''t described so Kyle could only speculate.


    ''I''m going to the front tomorrow with the loss of *****, *****, ***** and ***** we have no choice the [mortals/civilians] have already been evacuated further south but without the [shield/protection] of the ***** I don''t know what will happen to them. ***** is going with them hopefully my ***** will be safe. I''ve been assigned to ***** of ***** and I''ve heard they have the highest [success/victory] rate of any others.


    The front was terrible we have little choice now. The ***** are slowing them but they are to weak so the word from above is to prepare the [cleansing/purge]. I hope they know what they are doing because if they don''t we''ll all pay the price. ***** didn''t come back from the front and we held a [ceremony/ritual] for him but we didn''t even have a [body/soul] to mourn. This [battle/massacre] is going to be the end of us.


    We''ve had our first victory in *****, we were going about it all wrong by striking with ***** we hurt them it must mean they aren''t ***** and if we use any other ***** means they can just shrug it. I fear this is too little to late however as we''ve lost too much. I can only hope ***** still survives.


    They still want to use ***** the fools if they do this we are only playing into their hands. We know that ***** is the only true way to hurt them. I''ve been speaking to ***** and we think we have a way but it means our deaths. We have to move on this soon as the ***** now have gained some kind of [cult/religion] among some of the ***** and they''re starting to act against the [lords/rulers].''


    While Kyle was reading this he lamented the foolishness of people as they couldn''t defeat their enemy some must have taken them as being some kind of apostle or religious icons. Kyle had felt that there were greater beings in this universe when he first arrived but the fact the ancients successfully managed to fight their enemy showed they weren''t all powerful but instead were something just different.


    ''Damn, damn, damn those ***** [cultists/believers] breached the ***** they opened the ***** of ***** and let the three times damned things in. It was a [massacre/battle] with no survivors; the only positive that has come from this is the [cultists/believers] have been removed. ***** and I have almost completed **** and we only need a little more time before we can [engage/activate] the *****.


    It''s in place finally we just need to let it [grow/strengthen] and we''ll be clear. I just hope the others managed to get away. If this works they will at least have a chance I just wish I could have seen ***** one more time.


    The [lords/rulers] have activated the [cleansing/purge], it''ll take several days for it to completely charge but ours should complete before so if the ***** is successful they will have time to cancel it.


    They''ve breached the front, we''ll be leaving soon good luck to whoever finds this.''


    With this last sentence the journal was finished. Kyle didn''t know if the writer had been successful or if the "purge" had been completed but whatever the case was Kyle felt a trickle of sweat roll down his face as he had seen how powerful his mansion was and if he was right and all the ruins were mansions like his what was strong enough to destroy them all?


    "God I hope their enemies are long dead."

 82 Chapter 82 Wife power

    "God I hope their enemies are long dead."


    Kyle didn''t sleep for the rest of the night and as the first light of the morning crept through the window Kyle roused himself and took a shower and freshened up for the day ahead. For the first time since he came to this world Kyle just wanted to lie in bed but he had work to do.


    Heading out of his room he was surprised to see neither Miranda nor Clara was present instead Ash was waiting for him. Ash looked at Kyle and noticed his pale face and noticeable black marks under his eyes. Even though they could go several days without sleeping at Kyle''s age he still needed to at least sleep for a few hours a night.


    "Good morning Kyle I decided to look after you today. Miranda will meet us in the kitchen."


    Kyle remembered how scared Miranda looked last night so he could only nod his head in shame before he and Ash walked through the halls. As they walked Ash tried to engage Kyle in conversation.


    "So how are you doing? You disappeared last night and everyone is worried about you."


    "I''m doing.....I''m not doing fine to be truthful. I think I did the necessary thing but I don''t know if it was the right thing."


    "Well none of us who were involved in the mission think what you did was wrong if that''s any comfort. You have to decide if what you did was warranted in the end no one can help with that, all we can do is give you our support."


    Kyle and Ash fell silent after this and carried on towards the kitchen. As they got nearer the sounds of life and laughter could be heard which caused Kyle to slow his steps. He didn''t want to worry his people and was thinking if he should stay away for now.


    As Kyle was thinking of running away he felt a hand on his back pushing him forwards.


    "Don''t step away from the people who care about you. You''re going to need them especially now."


    With Ash''s encouragement Kyle took a deep breath and entered the kitchen. As he passed the doorway he saw the usual hustle and bustle that accompanied breakfast in his house. The whole crowd was there including his mother and father with Shauna and Isaiah. Lady Sparrow and Faye were also present; it appeared that a call was put out so everyone had arrived early.


    When Kyle had entered the room a few people who were banned from helping in the preparation noticed his arrival and gradually the others noticed as well. A silence descended as people turned to look at him which gave Kyle a shiver down his spine as in his mind he thought he could see blame and accusation in their eyes.


    This only lasted for a second before he felt an impact and was almost sent flying ass over tit. Looking down he saw Chad and Theo had rushed over and hugged him. They were still young and looked up to Kyle as a hero after he had saved them yesterday.


    "Big bro you disappeared last night, are you okay you didn''t get hurt did you?"


    "Yeah you can''t be hurt you''re really strong!"


    Chad and Theo began chattering asking if he was okay which brought a little tear to the corner of his eye before he tried to reassure them.


    "Yes I''m fine I was just a little tired. You should go and help the adults now."


    Both the little boys nodded before they sprinted back and began to ask what they should be doing. Kyle looked around and saw Miranda sitting with Clara who was patting her back, he could see Miranda must have had a bad night as well as she had red eyes and seemed to be trying to avoid looking at him.


    Kyle sighed at this as he knew Miranda was a kind and gentle girl and he needed to apologise for scaring her so he made his way over closely followed by Ash. As he got closer to Miranda and Clara Ash stepped away to give them some space and instead began to talk to Landon who was seated nearby.


    "I''m sorry Miranda I didn''t mean to scare you last night; I was just having a bad dream. Are you going to be okay?"


    "Yes sir I''m fine you don''t need to worry about me." Miranda responded in a slightly high than usual voice.


    "I''ve said before Miranda you should call me Kyle at the breakfast table."


    When Miranda heard this she gave Kyle a small and shy smile before she regained a little bounce to her. Clara huffed at this as she had been trying to cheer her up for a while now and all it took was a couple of words from Kyle and she was wagging her tail again, but it was good to have the cheerful Miranda back regardless.


    "Thank you for looking after her Clara." Kyle thanked Clara as well as he knew that these two had become close after their training and he hoped they would continue to be friends. Seeing that they had finished speaking Landon approached and placed his hand on Kyle''s shoulder.


    "Excuse me ladies can I borrow Kyle for a little while. I promise to return him with no damage." Landon spoke to the girls with a grin on his face which made them both go red from embarrassment as it looked like their little crush was already known to him.


    Landon steered Kyle away from the crowd and led him to a little room just off from the kitchen. This looked like another storeroom but it was pretty empty with just a few wooden boxes still scattered around.


    Landon leant against one of the boxes and stared at Kyle without speaking. He continued to watch him for a couple of minutes which began to make Kyle feel uncomfortable. This felt like one of those interrogation techniques the police use when they try and get a suspect to break from pressure.


    Kyle refused to break and instead leant on a box opposite and returned Landon''s gaze. This deadlock lasted with neither father nor son being willing to back down first. Eventually Landon grew tired of this and broke the silence.


    "So Ash tells me you killed for the first time last night? How do you feel, like a real man?"


    Landon''s question was harsh and it caused Kyle pain hearing him ask like this. He lowered his head and hunched his shoulders in a clearly defensive pose and spoke while keeping his eyes firmly on the floor.


    "Honestly I didn''t think I would feel anything and I didn''t during the mission but once it was over I felt like...I don''t know what I felt but I hate it."


    "Good that is how you should feel; if you enjoyed it I would be worried. Let me tell you a story I first killed a man when I was 13 years old, as a noble we may be required to fight and kill other people and the worst thing you can do is freeze up. Knowing this my father took me with him on a bandit clearance, I wasn''t supposed to be involved I was only meant to observe but I saw one of them running away so I gave chase. I won''t go into the details but I killed him and was happy I had helped but it was only after I realised I had taken a life. That night my father took me with him to the barracks of the unit I was with and they got me blackout drunk. It took me months before I could pick up my sword again but I got through it."


    Landon stopped at this point as he was remembering the feeling and fear he felt during this time, it was better to have some training in this but he hadn''t thought his son would have to face it this early.


    "Father I did more than just kill them, I tortured one for information and used the body of another as a means to send a message." Kyle spoke out on what was really bothering him at this point, while the killing had taken a toll it was the extra bits that made him fear what he may become.


    "Was it necessary?"


    Kyle thought on this for a minute and the torture was necessary as they needed the information to save the children without them getting hurt and he felt that creating fear of the ''shadow hand'' was also needed. He may have been able to do it in a different way given time but it may have caused problems further on.


    "Yes I believe so."


    "Then you only have to remember that I believe in you."


    When Kyle heard this he began to cry so Landon hugged him until he calmed down. It appeared that he had been affected by his young body and had lost control of his emotions but at least it let Landon act like his father.


    "Better?" Landon asked.


    "A little, we had better get back or mom will be angry." Kyle responded which made Landon pale a little before they rushed back to the kitchen, only for Landon to have to dodge a small lightning strike from Maria.


    "Where have you been?" An annoyed Maria asked with a cute pout to which Landon responded with a question of his own.


    "What type of wife would try to shoot their own husband?"


    "All of them!"

 83 Chapter 83 Preparing for the timeskip

    "All of them!"


    The response came from all around; looking back Landon could see that it was all the married people who responded. The ladies responded with happiness while the men responded with defeated expressions. Seeing this Landon moved towards the largest group of men and received a bro hug while the women just crossed their arms and clicked their tongues.


    "Hahahahhaa" Kyle couldn''t help it after the fear and confusion he had been suffering from seeing this ridiculous situation he finally broke down in a fit of giggles. Maria seeing Kyle was happy swooped in and gave him a strong hug.


    "Are you okay sweet heart?" She asked with motherly concern and care.


    "Not really but I think I''ll be okay." Kyle responded before he returned her hug.


    Everyone stopped messing around seeing Kyle had brightened up and began to crowd around chatting and laughing as they did before. Eventually they all sat down and had their meal. During which Landon spoke to Kyle about his training.


    "Kyle I think you should spend some time with me and the family council to learn about statecraft and in how to lead people. You need to learn to see things from a distance and operate on the political stage. Why don''t you train with your people in the morning and learn from me in the afternoon?"


    Kyle thought about this for a minute but he couldn''t refute what his father said as he truly had no experience in commanding a large group of people and he may need to learn some tricks.


    "Okay dad I''ll come to you after lunch but only if you train with me and ''shadow hand'' during the morning."


    "I don''t have a problem with that. I''m actually curious as to how you''re training your special force."


    Hearing Landon''s response Kyle began to grin which made the members of ''shadow hand'' and Miranda''s father Liam shake in fear. Landon could also feel something incongruous with Kyle''s smile but wouldn''t know until later that he had awakened a true beast.


    With breakfast over everyone headed to the training grounds and began their usual warm-up followed by a cultivation session. Kyle moved amongst them checking on their progress he corrected a few of the younger children but everyone else was progressing well.


    Kyle found another 3 of the ''death watch''; One and Landon would be able to fully open their first gate. Helping them push through Kyle noticed Landon had barely any adverse reaction and believed this was due to him already being in the second stage. Maria wasn''t ready to open her gate as she still needed to cultivate a little longer as her previous technique focused on her mental abilities so her body required more work.


    Once Kyle finished with the breakthroughs he checked on the members who had injuries previously. Everyone barring the one armed guard and the burnt girl had already fully healed. The guard''s spirit realm had continued to strengthen and fill in so Kyle checked his stump and it was clear to see it had begun to grow out. Seeing Kyle''s look the guard also noticed and had a little hope that his young master may be able to return him to being a full person again.


    Finished with the guard Kyle went to his last "patient". The young girl with burns down the side of her body, when Kyle approached she didn''t shy away but instead stood there passively allowing him to inspect her. Her spirit realm continued to recover so he began to inspect her arm.


    The scarred flesh had become brittle and started to crack. Kyle inspected the damage and was pleased to see that through the cracks new flesh was appearing. Having the girl drop the hood she wore he was able to see the same was happening on her face and shortly she should be fully healed. Deciding it would be fine now he lifted the girls arm in front of her own face.


    "It''s okay to let you know now that my techniques healing properties appear to only grow stronger as you do. So with your efforts you have begun to heal properly. Now can you tell me your name?"


    The girl was looking at her arm with dead eyes until Kyle spoke, as he said she was healing life flooded back into her eyes. Looking at her arm closely she could see it was truly healing. Tears gathered in her eyes before she looked at Kyle and only responded with.


    "Alena."


    "Well done Alena and welcome to the family."


    Ever the motherly figure Nettie took the young girl away as she had become overcome with emotion. Kyle watched until they had moved out of his sight before he clapped his hands.


    "Okay everyone you know what to do, to your places ''shadow hand'' with me again Liam, dad this way."


    With this Landon finally understood Kyle''s grin and what the face of hell was. How did he raise such a beast but his training was truly effective. ''Shadow hand'' had already gained a level of combat efficiency Landon struggled to believe, they could already be said to be on the way to being elites but seeing Kyle throwing them around even in group battles Landon realised they still had a long way to go.


    After several hours of torture.....um training they broke up with Landon taking Kyle with him for his first lesson in statecraft while ''shadow hand'' joined ''steel lotus'' and ''death watch'' in a more regular training which felt like a reprieve for them.


    The training Kyle undertook that afternoon was necessary but man was it boring. Meeting upon meeting, reading reports and issuing commands. It seemed the main family was trying to drown Landon in paperwork. Kyle was reading these reports with Landon and could see a lot of them were repeated requests and authorisations so he decided to look into this as there should be a way of allowing certain subordinates to deal with this with only the truly important requests requiring the family heads intervention and Kyle would be damned if he was going to spend all his time reading reports.


    After several hours of this Kyle was far more tired than he should be from paperwork but he felt as though his soul was being torn from its new moorings. If the void wanted to wipe away his soul it should have just given him this to do.


    Finally free from his torment Kyle returned to his mansion to bask in the joy of being alive once again. When he returned he was assailed by a feeling of joy and completeness from the spirit in the mansion. It had been strangely silent recently but it had come back much stronger than before, it''s joy couldn''t help but bring a smile to Kyle''s face so he went to his office to connect to the spirit privately.


    When he connected to the remote link Kyle found the spirit was much stronger than previously and seemed to have gained the ability to communicate if only in the most basic way.


    ''Father.'' The spirit spoke/projected to him, he could feel the connection between them was much stronger so he used this connection to try and understand what was happening. When he looked within he could see his mansion but also another destroyed mansion. This was the one he had purchased only yesterday. It appeared the mansions were now networked for a lack of a better term, with this other mansion regaining power and growing in strength it seemed to be strengthening the spirit.


    ''Well done.'' Kyle projected to the mansion only to feel an increase in the joy he felt previously. This spirit was truly like a pet rather than a child but Kyle cared for it never the less. After spending a little while with the spirit Kyle excused himself as he had ''people'' things to deal with. With a little wave the spirit sent him off even though it could still ''see'' him.


    Kyle''s next stop was to check on Elena as if his understanding and prediction was correct she should be waking up anytime now. Going to the infirmary he could see Chad was sitting with his sister again but he looked much happier than previously and was trying to read a children''s book aloud.


    Kyle walked over and checked on Elena and saw her awakening was imminent sop while he waited he helped Chad read the book. After about 30 minutes Elena began to stir eliciting a cheer from Chad.


    Kyle watched as she gradually opened her eyes and looked around with a confused expression on her face, suddenly she began laughing and crying at the same time which made Chad scared for her.


    Kyle used his abilities to check on her and found that her mind was in turmoil. All the previous feelings and emotions of the young girl were running riot and the entity now residing within her didn''t know how to cope.


    In this chaos Kyle stood like a pillar allowing the entity somewhere to anchor itself. Gradually the chaos died down while on the outside Kyle appeared to be stroking the young girls head. It appeared as though the entity had absorbed all the memories of its host in bulk along with the emotions essentially merging them both with the side effect of an emotional overload.


    Once the tirade was over Elena fell back asleep but a much more natural one, Kyle took his hand from her head before he made up a story for Chad.


    "Chad it looks like what made your sister sleep has affected her. She will get better but it will take time, can you be patient and help her."


    "Of course she''s my sister."


    "Good boy, let her sleep for now once she wakes up she''ll be hungry so bring her to the kitchen."


    Chad nodded so Kyle left them alone before he headed down to the kitchen to grab some dinner with everyone.


    "Hey Kyle where''s Chad?" Clara asked as she had taken the role of Chad''s caretaker.


    "Elena just woke up so he''s going to bring her down once she''s up to it."


    "Great so what''s the plan for now?" Asked Bruno who had just sauntered over.


    "Well now I think it''s time for the timeskip."

 84 Chapter 84 Three year round up

    "Well now I think it''s time for the timeskip."


    *******************


    3 Years later


    *******************


    During this period of time Kyle and his crew had never ceases in their training and were getting stronger day by day. The distance in strength between the members of his household had decreased and any of them would be able to protect themselves.


    Miranda and Clara had continued practicing with ''steel lotus'' and had become exceptional scouts and assassins in their own rights. The training Kyle had ''steel lotus'' practice began with the same body strengthening training he had used on ''death watch'' and ''shadow hand'' but as time went on he diverged their training scheme and instead started training them using techniques he had seen in movies.


    This started with moving over surfaces which made various noises like loose stone and if Kyle could hear them with his enhanced senses they failed. This helped train Kyle''s senses at the same time so they were always in a cold war but it did allow ''steel lotus'' to progress at an insane rate. They were also trained in medicine and poison, it wasn''t Kyle who taught them this but rather they learned this from Alena the previously burned alchemist girl.


    Alena had a great deal of knowledge about plants and their properties from her study of alchemy and with Kyle using his soul sight to analyse the potential of various plants and their properties they made great strides in their experiments. While ''steel lotus'' didn''t work as maids very much they did help Alena with the herb garden in the third floor basement.


    The herb garden flourished much more than it would have in any other situation as the array''s present helped nourish and accelerate the growth of the plants found within allowing them to have an overabundance of material to experiment with. Alena was also training some of the other girls so they would be able to look after other herb gardens at a later date. On a side note Alena seemed to have a crush on someone, but to everyone''s shock it wasn''t Kyle instead it was his stalwart buddy Bruno who was the apple of her eye.


    Kyle was happy for his friend who to the irritation of everyone was completely oblivious to what was going on and instead carried on with his happy go lucky life. Kyle suspected this affection was due to something that happened while Alena was still healing. Alena had taken off her heavy robe due to it getting damaged during training but this allowed her scars to be seen by everyone. Nobody felt repulsed or was horrible to her as she was now one of them but almost everyone had pity in their eyes. This is sometimes worse than hate and fear, just as she was about to cover herself in another robe Bruno piped up with his usual bluntness and just said.


    "Wow you have really pretty eyes." There was no ulterior motive to what he said he just thought she had very nice deep blue eyes. Which he told Kyle later, but this seemed to have been enough to cement the girls affection on this buffoon.


    ''Steel lotus'' themselves trained in smaller weapons and other infiltration methods. Kyle would create simulation situations where they would have to sneak in and reach a target within a specific time frame using whatever means they could and Kyle would grade them based on time and success. This forced the girls to come up with many different means of breaking and entering including lock picking and the use of parkour which Kyle had taught them the basics of.


    While Kyle let them choose their own weapons every member of ''steel lotus'' carried throwing spikes, lock picks, a grappling hook and a form of armoured claw. The weapons they generally chose were small blades like daggers or wakizashi blades with a few exceptions. Kyle was really happy with ''steel lotus'' and after a year of training Faye had taken command of them with the support of her sister.


    ''Death watch'' had also grown considerably during this time. Their strength could match any group of guards within the city and if they operated as a unit they could easily trounce a group of greater number than themselves. This was due to Kyle focusing on their teamwork; this was similar to their previous training in the army but with more flexibility in their command structure. Kyle had introduced more ranks to them allowing the platoon to breakdown into squads and again further into teams.


    They were also trained not to try and take down an enemy alone but rather to engage them in 2 or 3 on 1 because if the enemy attacked they would have a belief that they would win so why would you fight them on their terms. Kyle gave them an example he got from a movie again.


    "If a guy wants a fist fight bring a club, if he brings a club bring a sword, if he brings a sword bring 3 friends." Kyle didn''t believe that a fight to the death was a fair fight and he trained his men to believe the same.


    While ''steel lotus'' focused on training their flexibility, speed and hiding skills ''death watch'' focused on strength, defence and endurance they were going to be his front line defenders like the infantry from the armies in his past life so they needed to have heavy weapons and armour. While they used heavy weapons the selection was far wider and they had choices of axes, hammers, swords, spears or halberds some chose other weapons but there were only one or two who went this route.


    While Kyle hadn''t succeeded in producing magic power armour yet (not for lack of trying) he had managed to give them a better form of plate armour which gave them a wider range of movement than what existed previously. He had based it on some of the armours that a certain superhero with a close relation to a flying rodent had come up with in his dystopian, gothic city. The effect for lack of a better vocabulary looked cool and he couldn''t wait until they appeared on a battlefield in their full glory, the effect of this would be awesome to behold.


    ''Shadow hand'' had suffered Kyle''s training for a whole year. They helped Lady Sparrow in the afternoon and evening but had to be present for training in the morning regardless. One and his men managed to make it through this hell by holding onto one thought ''we can do this to our juniors''.


    The other gangs had been pretty quiet during this time after they had heard of the warning Kyle had left on the slave trader''s corpse. When the contents of this warning reached these gangs they feared a new player had entered the game and until they knew their strength it was better to consolidate their current power.


    This gave ''shadow hand'' the time needed to gain their foothold as Kyle had hoped. They began their conquest with Lady Sparrow''s brothel and took out the guards there. These were low level new recruits to the seven snakes so they hadn''t been involved with anything to heinous and so were absorbed into ''shadow hand'' once Kyle enforced the slave seals onto them and One took great pleasure in breaking.....teaching these new recruits Kyle''s training regime.


    In a short while ''shadow hand'' had taken over the seven snakes. This was a relatively bloodless assault as One had known at least some of these men and as a protection racket they weren''t involved in anything to terrible.


    Once ''shadow hand'' had seized this territory the halted their expansion and instead focused on securing their territory and strengthening their new members. ''Shadow hand now had the greatest number of Kyle''s forces but as Kyle absorbed the family guards into his forces this would change. Speaking of absorbing the family guards Kyle had made a point to bring in Captain Tobias (market guard captain) and the A''hole squad (the relatives of the traitor guard). He found these men were good and loyal people so he placed Tobias in charge of the A''holes before training them and teaching them investigation procedure.


    They started by interrogating the traitor guard and dissected what he said looking for evidence. Kyle could tell when he was using his empathic sense which Kyle had taken to calling soul eyes. Once they had pumped the traitor for all the information they could they placed him in jail and carried on training by questioning various prisoners and investigating various crime scenes. During this time they became very proficient in uncovering the truth and Kyle decided once this group increased in number he would reform them as a new squad.


    Landon was very pleased when he saw the strength and loyalty of Kyle''s people. These would be the new backbone of the family and with them they would soar. After Kyle had healed the black family their relations with the Powell''s had improved to the point that Landon and Leonard began to call each other brother. With his family healed Leonard had come out of his funk and had returned to being a robust and outgoing leader like he was previously.


    The elders were happy with this new relationship as with this progress the Miles family had to step back in fear of being attacked by both families if they attacked one. They however were less impressed when Landon insisted Kyle should be involved with the management of the family. This was only exacerbated when Kyle began to insist on reform within the family.


    It began when Kyle brought in a group of erudite slaves to take the position of middle management. These people would help in the day to day running of the properties and businesses of the family much like how Zak helped Kyle in the running of his mansion. Once these people had been trained in how Kyle wanted them to work Landon and the Elders had to agree it was a good idea and eventually Kyle earned a place on the family council. This wasn''t without incident as a few elders and his eldest uncle walked out, Kyle only shrugged his shoulders before he got back to work.


    While Kyle introduced certain administrative alterations he also learned a great deal from the Elders particularly in the field of politics. Kyle wasn''t really one to focus on the schemes and machinations of those who wished him ill but with the help of the elders he gained clarity on this scene. He grew close with a few of the elders and played mind games and played out situations to see who would win.


    In the beginning the elders could run rings around him with their words and hidden meanings but eventually Kyle could stand his own against them in debate. He realised after he understood the politics of this world our world was far dirtier because after a while in deadlock the people her would just resort to force.


    The final thing Kyle had found during this period was that the ruins he had purchased had ''healed''. These buildings were different than he had even conceived of, the reason the stone appeared to be fused was because they weren''t built but instead grew like cells in a body using mana from the crystal as fuel. It took months but eventually the mansion had been fully re-built but it was still hidden under the ''concealment'' arrays. ''Shadow hand'' had been using this as their base after it had become fully active again.


    Realising the potential of these places Kyle moved to purchase the others in the city. 3 of them were no problem as the owners were happy to be able to get some money for them, the last however was in the ownership of the Miles family and they refused all offers. So Kyle simply broke in one day and reactivated the property with a crystal shard from his own mansion like he had done with the others. All the mansions had the altar like structure on the second basement floor with at least one sphere present. Kyle now believed these were the source of the connection between them and once they were all fully operational Kyle had a feeling something special would happen.


    "Now are we all caught up?"

 85 Chapter 85 Its innocen

    "Now are we all caught up?"


    "Who are you talking to?" Miranda asked with curiosity covering her face.


    "Don''t worry about it just roll with it." Kyle responded with a gentle smile.


    "Just let him do his things you know how he get''s sometimes." Clara put her thoughts into the mix.


    "Clara my dear you know that nothing you say will hurt me as I know you don''t mean it."


    Kyle teased Clara while he grinned at her with a twinkle in his eye. Clara and Miranda were lying on his bed while Kyle was sitting at a small desk he had placed in his room where he was writing in a journal he had begun to keep recently.


    "Is it morning already *yawn*." From under the covers of the bead a head emerged which belonged to Elena.


    "No Elena it''s only 4 in the afternoon we still have a couple of hours until dinner."


    "Oh okay I''ll go back to sleep then." With that she disappeared beneath the covers again causing Kyle to raise an eyebrow while Clara and Miranda could only giggle to the side.


    This had become a regular occurrence as the three girls could usually be found either training or with Kyle. When he was working at his little desk the girls usually lounged around on his bed. Although Clara and Miranda were in love with Kyle they hadn''t progressed as Kyle still believed they were far too young (you perverts) and Elena was well a special case. She had absorbed the memories of her host and was incredibly attentive to her younger brother Chad but when it didn''t involve him or training she gained an almost godly level of absent mindedness and would always move at her own pace. Kyle enjoyed her company as she brought such a degree of randomness to the house it always brightened his day.


    Kyle had been reviewing his progress and that of his people. Kyle himself was now at the seventh level and would be able to breakthrough to the eighth level at anytime. The rest of the household were at a minimum of level 6 which allowed everyone to safely train in external, mage and sorcerer skills. Kyle had begun to train in these when he entered the third level but found that the drain on the main channel was greater than expected. So he limited the people below the fifth level to only use skills with a maximum of 2 sub-nodes.


    This would limit the power of the skill but it would reduce the drain, considering nobody should be able to use anything but reinforcement until the fifth level anyway they would still have an advantage over their enemies.


    Through experimentation and the use of the library within the mansion Kyle had made good progress in his study of skills. While the sub-nodes within the torso and limbs allowed for body strengthening and in combination allowed for things such as sword waves and power punches by sending mana in an altered form to impact their target, the nodes and sub-nodes located in the central region of the brain governed the use of mage spells.


    Part of what he found was only the 8 sub-nodes from level 0 and the 8 from level 1 were what determined the nature of the spell while all the subsequent nodes were used in combination to create a more powerful version of the original 16 types. You could also activate several of the original 16 at the same time to create additional effects or link them to the ones in the torso and limbs to imbue them with elemental power.


    Speaking of nodes and sub-nodes as Kyle broke through he found that the increase in them continued with its exponential growth in quantity at level 2 he unlocked a further 16 nodes and 128 sub-nodes and at level 3 it was 32 nodes and 256 sub-nodes. So at each new level after 1 it added the sum of the multiplied the sum of the previous nodes by 2 and the same happened with the length of the main channel hence why Kyle and everyone else had slowed down.


    When Kyle was messing around with sorcerer abilities he was surprised that almost everyone had slightly different abilities while the mage abilities if trained could all reach the same or at least similar levels. For example among the abilities Kyle had gained were telekinesis and telepathy while when Miranda had reached the same level as Kyle was previously she instead awoke a limited form of foresight.


    Kyle looked into this and found that even within similar abilities there were different limitations. After pondering on this for a while Kyle felt that the most likely reason was that the sections of people''s brains that governed the mage abilities would be largely the same but the sorcerer abilities developed with influence from the environment and/or memories.


    The final zone to look into was the area which dealt with senses and reflexes in the back of the brain. This area didn''t have any active abilities like the rest but if mana was fed into it the brain sensed more and reacted faster. It was a weird feeling when your perception of time slowed to an almost complete stop and you could only move your body at a snail''s pace by comparison.


    It did however create some interesting spars as once the household had learned to use these abilities the guarding and counter attacks could last for literally hours. Due to his soul sight Kyle could learn and experiment with skills and use them instantly while the others would need time and direction as the couldn''t see where they needed to send their mana and had to learn from trial and error with Kyle correcting them when needed.


    Learning new skills was necessary and to master them would take time so after discussing it with Faye, Ash and One they had given their respective divisions a set curriculum to master before they could start training in other skills.


    As Kyle was reminiscing about all the progress they had made in the last few years his father suddenly burst through the door and slammed it shut behind him while having eyes like those of a hunted animal. Kyle seeing his father like this thought that the enemy had finally begun to move again so he stood and took up his sword before his father''s next words floored him.


    "Kyle you have to defend me, your mother''s master has returned." After saying this he did a truly impressive hero dive and hid under the bed. Literally he ran jumped slid on the floor until he was hidden under the old hardwood bed with the duvet hanging over the sides effectively hiding him from view.


    Clara and Miranda who saw this began giggling again as they now saw Landon as their father to be and had grown close to both of Kyle''s parents.


    "Whosat." Suddenly a little head popped up again with blurry eyes and a confused look.


    "Don''t worry about it Elena it was just a big rat."


    With that statement a thump was heard which sounded suspiciously like a head slamming into the underside of the bead followed by something mumbled which sounded something like ''betrayal''. Elena just gave a humph before disappearing again and now Clara and Miranda were holding each other trying not to laugh while they were red faced with tears in their eyes.


    They had taken Elena as their own sister once she had regained control of her emotions and they went everywhere together. They thought that her strange antics were due to the time she spent in a coma and had no idea that within the body of this little girl was a being capable of killing all the gods in this universe.


    Kyle looked out of the window and thought of his mother''s master, he first met her about 2 and a half years ago after she was finally able to leave the capital. The emperor and his ministers tried everything they could to keep her from leaving but as she wanted to leave they only succeeded in delaying her.


    When she arrived Kyle didn''t go to greet her as he was working on a new array for the guild. This was a multi glyph array which would be placed within the guild hall as a defensive measure. After Kyle had gotten to know Draken the guild master a little better he found the dour man was actually a very attentive and caring man who spent whatever free time he had helping the newer members. So after Kyle had given him the nickname of "Eeyore" he had told him about the multi glyph arrays and also how his mother was training. Rather than share all this with the main guild he instead chose to keep this within the city and use it to strengthen the array masters present.


    He didn''t spread the multi glyph array concept as this was Kyle''s discovery but the training method was mad freely available to those with residence in the city and a certain standing within the guild. Once the members learned Kyle was the source of this new training he gained a high status amongst them and even the oldest members would bow to him as he walked through.


    Apparently his mothers master was angry when Kyle didn''t come to greet her and rather than incur her wrath Landon instead led her to where Kyle was working. Landon felt that if his son could take the brunt of her anger it was better to sacrifice him than receive it himself.


    When she saw Kyle she was at first ready to break into a tirade of abuse (which she is well known for, even the emperor fears her abuse). Before she could begin however she saw Kyle was creating a multi glyph array then was superimposing another over the top and then another before projecting them into a strange housing of some kind of stone mounted on a metal structure.


    How could this kid know array projection and what were those arrays and how could he merge them like that? All of this was going through her head so she approached Kyle while Landon stepped back to be out of the firing line. Kyle looked up and saw this unknown woman approaching but he wasn''t concerned as he could see his father hiding away in a corner.


    "Good afternoon ma''am can I help you."


    The woman paused her steps and looked at Kyle closely. She could see Kyle had trained physically but he wasn''t large like the guards and he was definitely not bad looking. What arrested her attention however was the will and intelligence she saw burning in his eyes.


    "Good afternoon I''m Susan, could you tell me what you were doing."


    Looking over Susan''s shoulder at his father Kyle received a nod so he decided to explain.


    "Well Susan I''m creating a shielding tool for the array guild. The city is becoming dangerous and I don''t want to leave them undefended just in case."


    "But what were those array''s you placed?"


    "Ohh those are multi glyph arrays. By inputting a special command ring I can use multiple core glyphs within a single array without them conflicting."


    "Well what about..."


    With this several hours of questions and answers ensued after which Susan and Kyle were no longer strangers and were instead fast friends. At some point Maria had arrived and saw a broken Landon sitting facing the corner while her master and her son were happily chatting about various subjects.


    Susan wasn''t just an array master and clairvoyant, it would be better to say she was a scholar with a wide range of interests and she was also a genius. Kyle really enjoyed talking with her and she felt the same as she finally found someone who could keep up with and even surpass her thoughts.


    Returning to the present Kyle could only shake his head at his father''s antics before his door was opened with force.


    "Damn boy you started early."

 86 Chapter 86 The pitiful fate of Landon

    "Damn boy you started early."


    With that a 4 foot 11 inch ball of energy came bounding into the room and leapt on the bed between a now red faced Clara and Miranda. When this tornado of terror made contact with the bed a muffled yelp could be heard and a now dishevelled and thoroughly disgruntled Elena could be seen.


    "Oh my god it''s not a threesome it''s a foursome. Man kids these days sure have a lot of energy; I hope you''re using protection teenage pregnancy isn''t anything to laugh at."


    Clara and Miranda were gradually becoming more and more embarrassed while Elena was staring at this new beast that disturbed her beauty sleep. While she was pouting Kyle could clearly see Elena was thinking of something before Kyle could sense the metaphysical clunk as a gear in her head caught and she came up with an idea.


    "You disturbed my rest, you have to compensate me."


    Elena spoke to Susan with a pure belief she was in the right and only waited for Susan to respond. For her part Susan only looked at Elena with amusement in her eyes, she was a third stage cultivator and everyone feared her barring a few people.


    "Oh really and why should I compensate you?"


    "You woke me up and I want pancakes, make that cherry jam pancakes."


    "But why should I worry about waking you, it''s only the afternoon heck even the sun is still up."


    "Don''t care I was sleeping so you owe me."


    "But...."


    "Don''t care pancakes first."


    Susan didn''t know what to do, she wouldn''t hurt someone just for talking like this and she found the girl funny. Looking to Kyle for an explanation she could only see him silently laughing at her predicament. Seeing Susan looking his way he could only shrug his shoulders.


    "Just give up she''s got you in her rhythm. If you head to the kitchen and ask Lauren about the pancakes and she''ll whip them up how Elena likes them, just tell her I said it was okay."


    "Okay, okay but before that did your father come in here?"


    As she asked this her eyes began roving around the room seemingly trying to hunt out the cowering Landon who was currently hiding under Kyle''s bed.


    "Sorry Susan I haven''t seen him surely he should be around the main hall."


    As he was saying this Kyle could swear he could feel relief coming from beneath the bed, however he still remembered when his father had tried to use him as a shield against Susan the first time they met so he decided now was a good time for revenge. It may have been a long time coming but Kyle was nothing if not patient. Indicating the bed with his eyes as he spoke Susan quickly caught on and before he had even finished his sentence dove under the bed to catch a wild Landon.


    She emerged while holding a struggling Landon by the ankle and started dragging him out of the room as she reached the doorway she shouted back to them.


    "I''ll get your pancakes ordered up little girl and Kyle I need to talk to you can you meet me at the library in an hour."


    With this the storm passed and their last view of Landon was of his hands gripping the door frame as he was being dragged away while being sent off by Kyle.


    "Sorry dad I did try."


    This was it for all four as they started laughing at the pitiful view of Landon. The three girls were curious about Susan as they didn''t get to meet her on her previous visit as she was only present for a couple of days and much of this time was taken up with some imperial duties.


    "Kyle who was that little lady?" Clara asked as she felt Susan was stronger than her but couldn''t get a true sense of her power. After the household began training with the new form of soul projection Kyle had his mother experiment with, they gained an ability to roughly gauge the strength of others. This training became known as soul shaping, Maria and to a lesser extent Landon had this ability already due to being more powerful.


    "That was my mother''s master Grandmaster Susan Alvarez, imperial seer and also according to my father a demonic beast in human form. Any questions?"


    The girls were giggling again at this as they felt this Susan was very interesting. Susan was also one of the few people Kyle had given his cultivation technique to without requiring a servant seal at the minimum to be placed on her to protect his secrets. It was just a feeling he had but he didn''t believe she would ever betray them and when he had seen how she acted with Landon and Maria he felt she was part of their family.


    Kyle had finished his reminiscence so he stood up and straightened his clothes as he wanted to check on the training grounds before he joined Susan in the library. Seeing him getting ready the three girls also got ready.


    Walking down to the training ground Kyle wasn''t surprised to find Susan and Landon were in the sparring arena. Landon was already in a bad state as he relied heavily on his physical skills and melee combat. Kyle had told him he needed to give some focus to mid and long range mage skills to diversify his combat style but he hadn''t listened and the result was he had been beaten so badly he looked like a panda. Susan was still fresh as a daisy and seemed to really enjoy torturing Landon.


    Kyle however knew she was only playing with him while also pushing him to develop his abilities. She was more akin to an older sister rather than a master but this didn''t prevent her from having a little fun at Landon''s expense.


    Leaving Landon to his training/torture Kyle looked through the rest of the training grounds. After the morning training schedule Kyle let the household do as they wished. A large proportion would continue training while some would do personal projects or just go out and enjoy themselves. The people weren''t prisoners and if they didn''t get some private time they wouldn''t function at peak capacity.


    Today the grounds were particularly quiet as most were preparing for the harvest festival which was fast approaching. This festival was as it sounds a celebration to mark the end of the harvest so a lot of drinking was expected.


    Kyle was thinking about part of the celebration he wasn''t looking forward to, that being the martial tournament. This was an organised fight between the younger generations of various families in the city. It was composed of three bands 10-15 years old, 16-20 years old and finally 20-30 years old.


    Kyle couldn''t see the purpose for him joining the tournament but he had a feeling his father would put him up for it. As he was musing about the stupidity of these matches Kyle noticed One was still in the training grounds attempting a new skill from the dark magic branch.


    Watching for a moment Kyle saw One was close to getting it, he decided to let One get there on his own rather than help him as it would give him a greater boost to get there on his own. Kyle thought back to last year while waiting for One to finish. After several years of service and seeing the unflinching loyalty One and the original members of ''shadow hand'' now had towards him Kyle decided to grant them their names back and to lower their seals to servant seals like the rest of his people.


    When he broached this subject to One and the rest of the original Eleven as they became known, they only looked to each other before they rejected his offer. They wished to stay as the original Eleven and to be his slaves. When he asked why One answered him.


    "We are your ''shadow hand'' that is all we wish to be."


    Kyle even now thought he may have gone too far with their training but as long as they were happy who cares. One by now had succeeded in using his new skill, this was a simply a spike made of dark energy but its advantage was it could be launched from any shaded location and could hit the enemy before it was destroyed by the light.


    "Hello sir can I do anything for you?"


    "No One I just saw you practicing, well done on using your new skill."


    "Thank you sir, if you''ll excuse me then I''m on duty tonight. Seven and Nine will be staying for dinner tonight."


    "Okay One carry on then."


    As the ''shadow hand'' were now occupying the 5 other mansions Kyle had restored in the city, they maintained a team of people in each one. When they weren''t on duty Kyle insisted at least some must be present at meal times and each member must eat with them at least twice a month.


    Carrying on through the training grounds Kyle saw members of ''steel lotus'' and the ''death watch'' cleaning up the grounds before they finished up for the day. As they were passing the final archway they saw Bruno and Alena standing in a quiet corner.


    Curious as to what was going on the girls were going to go say hi but Kyle quickly grabbed them and dragged them somewhere out of the way. He had an idea of what was going on and before he could do more than ensure the girls wouldn''t interrupt Alena kissed Bruno.


    Bruno was frozen with wide eyes and a shocked expression. After she kissed him Alena quickly stepped back but before they could do or say anything else they were interrupted by a sudden squeal from Clara who had seen them.


    Breaking free from Kyle''s grasp Clara rushed over and hugged Alena, deciding it was a wasted effort now Kyle came over with Elena and Miranda in tow.


    "Sorry for disturbing you." Kyle said while he was smirking first at Alena who was trying her best to look anywhere else and then at Bruno who was still frozen. Leaving Alena to the girls Kyle walked in front of the shell shocked Bruno and clapped his hands right in front of his face making him blink and focus back on Kyle.


    "Ah Bruno welcome back, was it that good?"


    "Um yeah, wait what no I mean yes but I don''t what?" Kyle was struggling seeing how his friend was acting he could almost see a big *error* flashing on his head. While Kyle spent time socialising and wasn''t embarrassed or unaware of the fairer sex Bruno was a muscle head, good natured but mostly oblivious to the interactions between men and women. Kyle thought this would be good for him as it would help him grow up a bit and Alena was a good match for him.


    Taking pity on the young couple Kyle decided to change the topic.


    "Susan has returned, I''m going to see her in the library in a bit do you want to come along?"


    "Yes if that''s okay Alena do you want to come as well?"


    Alena''s response to this was only to stand next to Bruno and take his hand. Seeing this Clara and Miranda rushed to each of Kyle''s sides and grabbed his hands. Elena seeing their actions looked a little annoyed before her little brain once again kicked into gear and she did what she thought was the most logical response to this development and just jumped onto Kyle''s back.


    "They grow up so fast *hic*."

 87 Chapter 87 Bring on the wall!

    "They grow up so fast *hic*."


    It looks as though Susan had finished teaching/torturing Landon and had decided to stop and see the teen drama unfolding in this quiet little corner of mansion. Looking towards her Kyle could see the fake tears and mocking smile he had come to know. For Susan, Kyle was a target which must be mocked as he never reacted to her teasing and quite often turned it around on her. Seeing her chance she launched a sneak attack on his closest support hoping to create an opening.


    "When''s the wedding going to be? Do I need a dress made up, oh we''ll have to organise it quickly otherwise the children will be born out of wedlock." She was saying this with a playful grin on her face as she looked at Kyle from the corner of her eye seeing what he would do.


    Kyle felt the teasing was enough and he didn''t want Bruno and Alena to worry about their relationship so when Susan was teasing them he decided it was enough, luckily he had just the means to shut her up.


    "Don''t worry about Susan she''s just jealous, the last time she had a date was before father was born."


    The last part of this was said only quietly making everyone lean in to hear what Kyle was saying everyone almost fell over with the exception of Susan who took on a hurt look before she crouched down with her back to everyone.


    "It''s not my fault it''s just no one can get to my standard."


    "Come on everyone we''ve got work to do this means you too Susan."


    Hearing Kyle everyone began moving while Susan quickly recovered her energy and bounded after them eventually catching up to Kyle although she had to walk slightly away from him as he was now covered on three sides.


    "So boyo have you got any new things to discuss or elucidate for me. I know you''ve been looking into alchemy lately. While I don''t study it myself I''m interested in it never the less. Unless you''ve got more details about the ancestors?"


    "I''ve got some new information for you but it''s more current than the ancestors. However I''m more interested in any news you have for me but let''s get to the library first shall we?"


    So the group travelled on and eventually reached the library. When Susan saw the library she was shocked as the mechanism in the centre which was inactive before now showed signs of life with the crystal in the middle now having a greenish glow to it while it was surrounded by hazy images.


    "It''s working what did you do? What does it do? Can you control it? *breathe in* More importantly can I play with it?"


    "Susan this is a display tool to show the status of the connected mansions. I''m thinking of calling them something different due to a name I found in the old records."


    "Oh what did the ancestors call it, no wait let me guess they called them Ethel?"


    "I wonder how your brain works sometimes Susan *sigh*. No they aren''t called Ethel they used to call them Bastions and after that last comment I think we need to check you for brain damage."


    "Nope I''m fighting fit my mind is like a steel trap."


    "Yup a really rusty one."


    "Hey that was uncalled for, so I''m assuming this display shows the status of your "bastion". Can''t you find that out by connecting to your spirit thingymajig."


    Kyle had already told Susan a great deal about his discoveries about the lost history of their world and his mansion. Regardless of how she acted she was very intelligent hence why she noticed the lack of necessity for Kyle to have this display.


    "Yes I can connect to the spirit but others can''t in the same way. The details displayed here and more accurate, also this displays anything within the network. Also drop the quotation marks when you say bastion."


    With a wave of his hand another bastion was shown. This was the second one he had reactivated and it had connected to the first with a form of a magical network. The subsequent bastions were added to this network as time went on until the display seemed to have enough power or data to activate.


    "Hum yes this would be useful if you aren''t present. Does it have an alarm function so it doesn''t need constant monitoring?"


    "Good question and yes it does. The function is connected to the spirit so as it comes under attack the spirit will find the highest ranking member present and draw them to the library with directed array projection."


    "Clever boy but why can''t the spirit defend itself without interference?"


    "Another good question, that''s two in one lifetime you''re getting better. The defence systems are controlled separately from the spirit so while it can power them they need a physical body to control them. I think this was a security feature the ancestors placed so that if the spirits gained self awareness like mine has they couldn''t just go on a rampage."


    "You''re being mean again but I think you''re probably right about the security protocol. Are you planning on bypassing it and letting your spirit loose?"


    "Yes once it''s grown up a bit more and is a bit more stable I''ll remove the blocks."


    "Is that a good idea? Is there any chance of it betraying you?"


    "There''s always that chance but I''d rather risk it than leave it chained. Oh I''ve also got a beat on the strength of the weapons the bastions are able to fire."


    "Ohhh this should be good. What can they do?"


    "Welllll they aren''t meant to defend within the city they are far too powerful. According to some technical details I found they are essentially anti beast horde weapons so they project outside the defensive walls."


    "Really but they need line of sight to hit how can they pass the walls?"


    "The walls the ancestors built were different than the ones currently around the city. We''ve done a few quiet digs and have found the ancient walls were further out from the city from the current ones and were made of the same materials as the bastions. According to what I''ve seen the weapons in the bastions use the wall as a lens strengthening their already impressive power and they pass right through annihilating whatever is on the other side."


    "Okay so that was why you asked me to look for that dead city outside of the empires borders. I found what you were asking about by the way; there were signs of a city about the same size as New Grange 6 ruins in the approximate location as the bastions in yours. There were also some external walls still present but they had largely collapsed."


    "Good that means my map was pretty much accurate so I know roughly where we are in relation to the maps I''ve found so far. Were any of the bastions intact or at least partially intact at least?"


    "No they were all collapsed with only bits still standing."


    If you haven''t guessed yet the last time Susan came around Kyle had spoken with her about various topics and one they both were interested in was the time of the ancestors. Susan had been able to conjecture their existence with evidence she had previously uncovered while Kyle had access to the library with various details of that time contained within the books present. One of these books had a rough map of the ancient empire with some of the larger cities marked, the only problem was that a lot of the landmarks were no longer present.


    When he spoke to Susan about this she came up with a solution. As she was a known mad scholar it wasn''t unheard of for her to disappear into the wilderness to search for some obscure thing or another much to the consternation of the emperor and his council. Kyle was seen as being too young to go out from the city now and while his parents would be fine with it there may be questions asked. So Kyle found a likely location based on some details on the map and Susan searched for it. Now he knew the location had a city of the correct size he could approximate the location of other main cities including the ancient capital which isn''t the imperial capital.


    The rest of the group had been watching the back and forth between Kyle and Susan like they were watching a tennis match while their mouths hung open, well everyone except Elena who was currently sniffing Kyle''s neck for some unknown reason.


    "So Kyle what was the more current thing you wanted to discuss?"


    "Well just that the current empire is a usurper and traitor. There was an empire before this one which shared their resources equally with the outer zones and only the higher level resources were shipped to the capital to strengthen their strongest before they were sent out to the borders to defend against the onslaught. A group of these outlying territories rebelled and killed the imperial family before taking the mantle with those who helped taking the roles of great houses."


    "Why didn''t I hear about this and when did it happen?"


    "About 500 years ago now and from what I''ve found the traitors purged as much information as they could but I found details within my families records as even then we were far removed so they didn''t care about us."


    "Well that''s interesting why the shift in resource deployment though?"


    "Simple, fear if they can rebel so can anyone else so don''t let them gain strength in the first place hence out new system. But with no truly strong warriors on the border we are gradually losing ground."


    "Yes just recently we lost another city to the south. If they keep cutting in the way they are it won''t be long before we''re cut off from the empire."


    The demon beasts had been hitting in a straight line through the human territory in recent years and if they continued it wouldn''t be long until the northern territories were cut off. For Kyle this wouldn''t be a bad thing as he would be able to seize control without interference from the imperial army en masse.


    "Kyle I was just thinking if the ancient walls are as powerful as you said and they are made from the same material as the bastions can''t you heal them in the same way?"


    "I already have currently they are standing tall."


    "What? I''ve just come through the gate today and there is nothing different."


    "That''s because it''s hidden behind an ''illusion'' like the other bastions."


    "This is a giant wall we''re talking about not just a building."


    Kyle didn''t respond but instead walked to the large windows on the wall. Susan followed while the rest of the gang were watching with vindictive smiles. The first time they found out about the walls they were completely blown away. How could something like that be invisible to the naked eye, it wasn''t until Kyle gave them a key to the array that they could see it. This was good for all the members of the household as they could climb the wall and be hidden from view and could appear just as easily without anyone knowing how they got there.


    Once they reached the window Susan was looking intently trying to get an indication of the wall being there but she could see nothing. As she looked she did notice something strange. Even in the open field people would walk around and join a line of carriages that were heading to the city in an orderly line. Why would they go around to the west when they could just go south to reach the gate? While Susan was still musing Kyle projected the array key to Susan and her eyes grew wide and her pupils dilated as she slowly looked up before she uttered.


    "Holy underwear!"

 88 Chapter 88 Infamy

    "Holy underwear!"


    Susan''s eyes travelled up the wall which towered over the city. The wall was around five stories high and was made of the same material as the bastions, looking to the left and right she could see various staircases leading to the top of the wall with various towers and redoubts (openings in the wall for shooting from) located along its length. Even the walls of the imperial city weren''t as tall or as imposing as these.


    She could see that where the caravans and people were being funnelled into was a large vaulted tunnel leading under the wall but how could they not realise the wall was there? She was aware of the ''concealment'' and ''illusion'' arrays that hid the bastions and how they functioned but surely this should break the illusion created by these arrays, but first.


    "Wow it''s so big!"


    "Well that''s because you''re so short it looks bigger." Kyle responded to Susan who was again doing a little skit for her own amusement.


    "Hey that''s heightist or would that be heightism? How could you Kyle et tu Kyle?"


    "No Susan I''m not doing this with you right now we''ve got stuff to do."


    "Oh okay how about Omae wa mou shindeiru?"


    "No and that''s the wrong way around anyway?" Insert face palm right here, Kyle was regretting telling Susan some of the pop culture he remembered as she couldn''t even get it right but hey ho on we go.


    "Come on everyone I want to get this back on track, yes the wall is complete and now we roughly know the locations of the lost cities we can start with the next phase."


    However Susan wasn''t finished playing and instead latched onto Miranda.


    "You''ll look after won''t you child Kyle is being mean."


    "Sorry ma''am but Kyle is my leader."


    "What about you girl on the other side, side girl, side chick?"


    "Oh sorry Susan did you call me a side chick, my name is Clara and can you kindly go somewhere far away."


    Hearing Clara and Miranda denying her she began to cry crocodile tears before slowly turning to Elena who was now staring straight back at her. Maybe she could, no it would be better if she didn''t involve this strange girl who had already defeated her with a flawless victory. Finally she could only shout as she lamented.


    "Infamy, infamy they''ve all got it in for me!"


    As she was shouting out her parting piece Landon, Maria and 2 elders entered the library. Maria walked over to her master and began to rub her head.


    "Master has Kyle been teasing you again?"


    "It isn''t just him this time it''s the people with him this time."


    Seeing a third stage master acting like this left the elders slightly non-plussed while Landon felt impending pain as Susan seemed to like taking out her frustrations on him whenever she saw him.


    The elders who were accompanying Landon and Maria were amongst those Kyle could prove weren''t involved within the conspiracy and had complete loyalty to Landon and the Powell family in general. Currently there were 4 out of the 15 elders currently cleared and these men had also been trained in the ''breath of deliverance'' technique Kyle had created.


    These elders had also received a servant seal so they couldn''t disseminate his technique without permission. They hadn''t told the elders what Kyle called this seal as the name may make them refuse it, but they did understand the reason for the secrecy and once they had received the full details that had been gathered about the attempts against Kyle and the Black family they knew a battle was coming.


    "Okay that''s enough everyone let''s sit down and talk about the details Susan has just brought to us. Have you all heard what is happening in the empire?"


    Kyle and the adults sat down while the youngsters began to wander the library looking for something interesting to do while they discussed their future plans.


    "Yes master told us about what''s happening in the south, what are we going to do?" Maria asked and Landon was the first to respond.


    "I don''t think we can do much to prevent the beast incursion, we don''t have the means to fight them straight up and the imperial army will probably begin to pull back before long."


    "I think we should send some people to evaluate the situation before we do anything." Said one of the elders.


    "I agree we are pretty blind as we stand now we need feet on the ground and information." Responded the other.


    "I have an idea, Miranda could you grab that big map over there and bring it over." Kyle called out as he wanted to see how the movement of these beasts would affect them.


    Miranda hurried over and they unfurled the map, weighing it down using items already present on the table. Looking at the shape of the empire it looked like a crescent shape with the imperial city being located at the thickest point to the southeast while new grange city was located to the north on the inner side. Looking at it laid out like this you could see where various chunks of land were now in control of the beasts.


    "Okay so you can see the beasts are avoiding these larger cities just north of their attack line correct. This should be because of the number of people present and the military strength is higher. If they continue in the same way they have been proceeding they''ll reach the eastern most point in about four years. This may be sooner or longer depending on the imperial response agreed."


    Everyone nodded their heads at Kyle''s conjecture if nothing changed this thin point of controlled territory would be lost and with no way stations the north would be completely cut off.


    "Alright then now we have within this northern territory 6 hub cities including New Grange and 17 low level cities. Each of these cities has more people than New Grange due to the previous attack we suffered, so what I propose is we send a team consisting of 1 member of ''steel lotus, ''death watch'' and ''shadow hand'' to each of those three border cities and they''ll start the process of reactivating the bastions there and recruiting people in the same way we did here."


    The low level cities only each had 4 bastions each as opposed to the 6 present in New Grange city.


    "I had our people look at the nearby cities and the low level cities have defensive walls present as well so once the bastions are up and running they can be repaired."


    "I have a question how are you able to hide the walls from what you''ve explained to me about the array''s functions they shouldn''t be able to hide them like this." Susan couldn''t hold it anymore and had to know how he had made an entire city ignore a giant wall that surrounded them.


    "Well like I said before these arrays don''t really hide them but instead it makes the suggestion they ignore them. I made a slight alteration to this when the walls were being revived, I strengthened the suggestions slightly I also altered the ''illusion'' array so it would implant an image of the other side of the wall in people''s mind and also make people think it was always there. It''s a little wonky but in combination it made people not realise."


    "I''ve also got another question, you said the attacks from the bastions pass through the walls but why not just place the attack arrays on the wall?"


    "Another good question, it''s to do with coverage and control. We need the attack arrays to have a good control system which the wall wouldn''t provide and if the wall was damaged while an array was charging what do you think would happen?"


    "It go BOOM!"


    "Bingo so the attack arrays are kept behind the wall due to the sudden spike in destructive energy. The walls do contain protective arrays but that is because the energy in those is far more stable and won''t explode if they''re damaged."


    "Okay got it."


    "Back to topic these teams will begin the process of garrisoning these cities, they will also make contact with those small cities in the attack line and we will offer them land here. This will bring in more people to replace our previous losses. The teams will also make investigate the nobility in these three cities; we can''t govern them all so we need a vassal house to manage them for us. I don''t care about strength of these houses as that can be fixed but we need those who are loyal. Does anybody have anything to add?"


    "Yes how will we communicate with the teams, these cities aren''t close by and if they need reinforcements we will struggle to get people to them." One of the elders asked as lines of communication were always problematic hence why if the north was cut off the empire would just drop them.


    "Glad you asked, currently I''m working on a long distance communication tool using the bastions but this is outside of its existing functions so while we can get updates on the various buildings we can''t use the same system to send messages. Susan here however should have brought our solution with her."


    "Yup, yup let''s head down to the stable and you''ll see what we''ve come up with."


    So the group travelled down to ground floor and walked to the southern wing. In this wing was a large space used to stable the various steeds that were used. Currently there were no steeds present as they used the ones in the Powell estate but the space was now filled with multiple carriages.


    Susan walked up to the nearest and with a flourish pulled down the sheet that was covering it. *Screee* What was contained within was a large falcon type beast it had a wing span of over 12m and a height of about 8m. Kyle could see there were some injuries to its wings either from when it was captured or during its containment.


    "Well done Susan how much do I owe you?"


    "Don''t worry about it; I did miss a few birthdays after all. So what are you going to do with them?"


    Kyle walked to the cage and took a better look at the beast, it stared back at him with a beady eye trying to see what this human wanted and perhaps it would be able to attack him. While these beasts may not have the reasoning of humans they were however much smarter than their earthly counterparts.


    Kyle wasn''t going to risk that as he already had a plan, as he and his people had the abilities of sorcerers they had been playing around with these abilities and one that most sorcerers possessed was the taming ability. This was due to it being closer to an array so if your soul was strong enough you could form a contract with a beast. The most common tamed beast would be of the equine variety but predator species would only be rarely tamed due to their inherently violent nature.


    Kyle began to project his taming ability using a specialised array of his own invention, this was a blood contract. When the eagle felt this array enter it, it lost strength and slumped down stunned. While it was stunned Kyle placed his hand on its head and directed his soul force into it completing the contract.


    Raising itself back up the falcon looked around with a new form of clarity in its eyes. Kyle opened the cage allowing the falcon to exit and spread its wings. Everyone stepped back as who wouldn''t be intimidated seeing such a large beast. However the beast didn''t act aggressively and instead waddled over to Kyle and begun nudging his hand apparently wanting him to stroke it.


    "He is the chosen one!"

 89 Chapter 89 NTR yes or NO GOD NO

    "He is the chosen one!"


    *Klunk* that was the noise that came from Susan''s head when Kyle brought his fist down on top of it. Susan crouched down and looked at him with an aggrieved expression while Kyle was thinking to himself ''these Japanese mc''s may have a point''.


    "Well getting back to business the way I''ve tamed this beast is a bit different from usual, the seal placed is connected to the blood so it will pass to the next generation if the one making the contract knows the correct way to activate it."


    "Wait, wait, wait you mean the taming bond will last beyond the currently tamed generation?"


    "Yup so as long as these guys breed successfully we''ll have a supply of flying mounts. Cool ain''t it."


    One of the reasons predatory beasts aren''t used as tamed mounts is due to the inability to control them past the first captured generation so subsequent generations would be trained from birth but the predatory instincts of those more aggressive beasts precluded this, but with this new means of taming them they could have a mounted army.


    "Let''s get this done I want all of these guys contracted, we have enough people to contract all these present. Susan what''s the gender split on these guys?"


    "We''ve got 3 males and 8 females, hey makes your blood pump aye Kyle they may end up with a larger harem than you."


    *Klunk* this one came from Maria who was looking at her master with fiery eyes. Susan saw the way Maria was looking at her and decided caution is the greater part of valour and for once shut her mouth. Kyle began projecting the arrays to contract these beasts before he had everyone complete the contract tying them to their mounts.


    "Kyle can we have more than one mount?" Clara asked, she always loved animals and now she was having dreams of being surrounded by animals like a princess in some "magical kingdom" ruled by some giant faceless evil entity with a squeaky voice.


    "Yes you can support more contracts as long as your soul is strong enough. These are different than slave seals or "other" seals as once you complete the contract you are using your soul to power it and override the instincts of the beasts."


    "So this is like a slave seal but that it requires the strength of the holder to power it." Landon asked as he was interested in the way this functioned.


    "Yes and no, it''s similar in that it overrides some freewill but rather it redirects the beasts protective instincts to the holder and establishes a two way connection between the contractor and the beast so it can do its best to interpret the contractors wishes. Does that make sense to everyone; I''ve left a lot out like the control methods used and other details."


    "I think we''ve all got the jist of it." Landon responded as everyone nodded or were speaking quietly to each other.


    "Okay good Susan I''m not familiar with this species, what''s their breeding cycle like?"


    "They usually breed in the spring and lay clutches of between 10-20 eggs but most of these get killed or destroyed due to the presence of other beats and other competing falcons. In a safe environment like this and with ready sources of food they should have a high survivability rate." While she was talking she was jumping up trying to pat her new mount on its head, but it appeared it had already picked up her teasing and while it was slightly hunched towards her it wasn''t low enough that she could pat it.


    "Good what about their strength?"


    "They are about equivalent to a second stage cultivator at around a year but they have various weaknesses hence why they only tend to attack human settlements during beast hordes *huff*." Giving up on trying to pat her falcon Susan slumped down and rested her back against its legs, seemingly taking pity on her the falcon finally lowered its head low enough that she could stroke it while she was sprawled out. As she stroked it, the beast closed its eyes and let out a low sound like a growl.


    "Kyle you seem to be thinking of something." Miranda who was always watching Kyle said making everyone look away from their mounts that they were playing with to look at him.


    "It''s nothing much just had a thought, why do demon beasts have such a high reproductive rate when they''re so powerful. Surely they should be like humans who lose their reproductive capacity as they become stronger?" Kyle said this with a thoughtful expression before looking at the others.


    Everyone who heard Kyle''s question began to think for themselves and couldn''t come up with an answer as to why this was. There were obvious differences between humans and beasts but there were also differences between beast species but the loss of reproduction seemed to be an exclusively human problem.


    Kyle could see the confusion in their faces as they had never thought about this before but now it was in front of them it was a confusing question. Kyle''s sight stopped on his mother she was hugging the neck of her falcon while quietly crying.


    "Mom are you okay what''s wrong?" Kyle was very concerned as he didn''t know why she was crying, generally she was a strong woman but to see her like this with no reason made him start to panic.


    "Kyle can you come with me? Can you see about situating our mounts, probably on the upper walls will be the best location?" Landon began issuing instructions unusually as within this bastion it was an unspoken agreement that it was Kyle''s territory.


    Walking away with Landon Kyle was still worried about Maria and wanted to know what his father wanted to talk to him about. Eventually they found them on the third floor looking out from one of the tower windows overlooking the city.


    "Kyle don''t worry about your mother it''s just that she always wanted a large family and we never stopped trying but well as you can see you''re an only child. It''s always been a sore point for her but there is nothing that we can do about it?" Landon gave a tired shrug of his shoulders given the situation they found themselves in.


    Kyle pondered the situation for a few minutes. While the people here may have an understanding of life and cultivation it wasn''t totally correct or complete hence the progress Kyle had made in a few short years was greater than had been made in the last 500 possibly longer.


    This fertility problem must stem from mana as this was the only foreign thing that would affect the body. Due to his soul sight Kyle knew that the mana wasn''t radioactive and was also helpful to the human body so how could this affect the fertility of people like this?


    "I need to look into something, will you accompany me for a while dad?"


    "Of course but what are we doing?" Landon asked in shock due to Kyle''s sudden energy.


    "I won''t say anything until I know what the situation is." With this he tore out of the room followed closely by Landon.


    They headed through the bastion and eventually reached one of the lounges on the first floor. This was where Nettie usually stayed when she wasn''t working and she was usually accompanied by some of the older members of the household.


    The years of training had drastically changed Nettie and also Isaiah who were the oldest members of their group. Nettie now looked to be in her late 30''s or early 40''s luckily she had been sequestered within Kyle''s bastion for a while so no one associated this middle aged woman with the grandmotherly Nettie from before.


    Isaiah was a larger problem, as he appeared to get younger people began to notice. He put it up to a better diet and training but before it became a problem he announced his retirement. This was only for 6 months but that was a terrible 6 months for Landon as he had to deal with the duties Isaiah covered for him. It would be best to say Landon was good at the bigger picture and left the small details to others.


    "Hi Nettie strange question I know but do we have any members who are pregnant or are trying?"


    Kyle bluntly asked this question getting raised eyebrows all around before Nettie thought for a moment. Lots of people came to Nettie with personal problems so she would be the best to know the gossip within the household.


    "Yes I know a few what do you need them for?" Nettie responded with questions visible within her eyes.


    "I don''t want to say yet, just in case but could you gather them and their partners in my audience chamber within the next hour?"


    "Okay I think they''re all around somewhere. All right you lot of your rears the boss wants some buns in his rooms let''s get moving."


    With that the knitting circle began moving with a purpose and nobody had better stand in their way. Kyle and Landon headed to his audience chamber to await the arrivals. Kyle was nervous as what he was doing was different than just advancing cultivation or messing with alchemy and arrays. This may improve people''s lives at a fundamental level.


    He had spoken to his father before about how high level cultivators seem nihilistic or at best uncaring. Susan was an exception as she had such a lust for life it overrode any despondency. Landon had merely said that as you become more powerful you find yourself removed from other people. Now he thought about it this was probably due to these people either not having children due to training when they were young or they outlived them.


    Kyle was also thinking about the girls who surrounded him. They trained to be able to protect their family and he also knew they trained to be close to him. This wasn''t narcissism it was purely fact, however if they wouldn''t be able to have children due to training would it be better for them to cease training or in the worst case find someone else.


    Kyle curled his hands into fists as he thought of this, seeing his girls with someone else. He couldn''t even stand the thought of this, the pure and innocent Miranda who had been with him for so long now and was always watching him, the slightly older Clara who was growing more sultry as the days went by and finally Elena who was, well she''s a good "person" but she was fun to be around. Kyle needed to vent his feelings so he could only shout out.


    "NO NTR!"

 90 Chapter 90 Parasite

    "NO NTR!"


    Kyle would be damned if he gave up his girls. In the last few years they had taken an irreplaceable place in his heart. If it meant they could stay together he would find out the cause of this problem and fix it.


    "Um Kyle are you okay?" Landon asked with some worry, he knew his son sometimes disappeared into his own mind but he was always surprised with what he came out with once he came to his senses.


    "I''m fine dad I just have to fix this problem and everything will be rosy and if anyone tries to take my girls I''ll make them into eunuchs." The latter part of this sentence was said in an undertone which Landon couldn''t make out.


    "Sorry Kyle I missed the last part, but anyway I was what are you planning now."


    "I''m going to find the root cause for the loss of fertility by analysing those at the beginning stages to see if I can find a cure. By the way I know why mom cried but why at this particular time?" This was bugging Kyle, Maria never really cried or became upset but suddenly she broke down and he didn''t know why.


    "It''s simple Kyle; you''re getting to strong too fast. Your mom had given up having any more children herself so she wanted to lavish her love on her grandchildren but with your progress she began to fear she would never have any. It is also a worry for me as well if you can''t carry on the family line."


    "It isn''t a foregone conclusion we can''t have children with our different means of cultivation it all depends on the cause. Oh I almost forgot with everything happening but what''s the word on the harvest festival tournament, do I really have to participate?"


    "Yes I''m afraid so Kyle we need you to represent the family and show our strength and honour."


    "I''m not worried about stuff like that, if I need to show strength I will but there has to be a proper reason to waste time and resources like this."


    "Hum well if you think of it like this, we like to hire strong outside contractors as guards and the like. Now if there isn''t any future for a family why would they work for us, the tournament is a showcase of our next generation''s strength to rope in talents. Do you understand why we need to at least show a little quality during the proceedings?"


    Finally Kyle understood the reason behind the tournament it was essentially one big advert and recruitment drive. It looks as though he wouldn''t be able to get out of the arbitrary tournament arc but at least there were no schools or academies here so he could at least avoid that load of bull.


    "Okay I get it there''s no way around it so I just need to decimate the opponents. Who will be taking up the mantle for the other placements?"


    "Bruno will join in with your age group while your cousins will each take one of the places in their respective age ranges. The other spots will be filled by people from the outer family, unfortunately there is no one truly exceptional amongst them but we''ll do what we can."


    "Okay if we''re doing this we need to do it properly, we have a few weeks so I''ll free up some time in my mornings to train the others. It''s been a while since a last sparred with my cousins, we may as well ask Leonard''s son to join us as well it''ll be good for him."


    Kyle was already onto his next project, planning to teach/torture the younger generation. He had of course sparred with Bruno regularly and he had been whipped into an acceptable shape and he had even trained with his cousins and Leonard''s son, the heir to the Black family but he wanted his whole team to make a good show of it so he would break them down and build them up as he had done for all 3 of his forces.


    "Yes it will be a good idea if all of you are able to show some true strength it may help to knock the Miles family down a peg or two. They''ve started moving again and I think it is probably due to the information Susan brought."


    "You mean now their backer, the cautious one may be cut off from them they may begin to act more aggressively and seize as much as they can in the chaos."


    "That''s my thinking; they haven''t had an increase in personal power so they''ve probably made underworld contact with criminals outside the city to bolster their numbers."


    "Yeah makes sense as the alliance with the Black family makes us a tough nut to crack even more than previously."


    As they were speaking a soft knock was heard at the door before the door was opened and a young lady of between 18-20 years old entered followed by a man of similar age. Kyle recognised them both, the girl was a member of ''steel lotus'' while the man was one of the blacksmiths working under Randall.


    Both of them stood in front of Kyle''s desk as they waited for the others to arrive. Kyle decided to calm them down quickly.


    "Relax you''re not in trouble we just have to wait for some others to arrive."


    Gradually more couples arrived and within the hour time limit 6 couples had arrived including Ash with Lauren and Liam with Iris. Nettie came in as well but sat to one side, Kyle didn''t mind this as he knew Nettie looked at all these people like they were her family.


    "Hi everyone and thank you for coming. The reason I''ve asked you to come here today is because you are either trying to conceive a child or are already pregnant with a child."


    Most of the couples merely nodded their heads but the first couple to arrive had a larger reaction. The girl looked at her lover with a worried look while he looked as though he had been hit over the head with his own smithing hammer.


    "Sorry did I ruin the surprise my apologies and also my congratulations." Kyle realised he had stepped on a landmine so he decided just to gloss over it and deal with the aftermath.


    "I''m sorry my lord I didn''t mean to hide it but we aren''t married and I didn''t want to be known as a loose woman, plus I really love what I do and didn''t want to leave." The girl began talking in a rush while she had tears in her eyes. This brought her lover out of his stupor and he moved to support her, this brought a smile to Kyle''s face as he found this young man to be of good character.


    "Calm down now why would you think you would have to leave?" Kyle had some suspicion as to where this came from but he wanted to get it straight from the horse''s mouth so to speak.


    "Sir usually when a servant becomes with child they are removed from their duties until the child is born." The girl was still worried but she had calmed down with the support of the young man.


    "You don''t have to worry about that, like I said before you are one of my people now and unless you wish to leave you will never be forced out. I''ll speak to Zak and Faye and see if we can get you on some lighter duties while you are carrying. Will that be okay?"


    The girl nodded her head emphatically while her lover was also saying his thanks.


    "Well now that''s sorted out, the reason I''ve asked you here is because I want to inspect you. You''re aware of the fertility issues cultivators have and I want to find out the cause. I think the easiest way to track this would be to first inspect pregnant cultivators of lower levels. Is that okay with all of you?"


    Kyle didn''t hide anything from those present as he didn''t want any confusion. Nettie was surprised at the reason for this impromptu meeting but didn''t worry about it much and the rest weren''t bothered if Kyle inspected them as he had done it many times over the years.


    With their consent the first couple to come up were the young girl and the blacksmith. Kyle turned his soul sight on the girl and altered his perception so he could see the foetus growing within her. Kyle could see the child was still only newly conceived, probably within the last 3 months. From what he could see the foetus was healthy and on inspecting the girl''s cultivation he could see she was level 5 approaching level 6.


    Looking closer Kyle noticed an anomaly within the girl''s womb. Mana was flowing through the umbilical cord and strengthening the child this was probably why children born in this world are generally stronger and more resilient than Kyle could remember kids being in his previous world. There was also a second flow of mana which was coming from the body of the girl and rather than nourish the child this mana was attacking it.


    With the nourishment the foetus was resisting and healing the damage caused but this was strange. Mana within the body should strengthen it and evolve it like the mana that was being fed but why would other mana attack.


    Kyle pulled back and sat there pondering for a minute. The young girl became worried and after a couple of minutes spoke up.


    "Um Lord Kyle is everything okay with my baby?" The girl had a little quiver in her voice as she spoke; this was her first child so of course she was worried for it.


    "Sorry, sorry I got caught up in my own thoughts. Yes your child is fine and it doesn''t appear as though there is anything out of place. Can I check the rest of you?"


    With this Kyle began inspecting the rest, most hadn''t conceived yet and Kyle could only shake his head as he told them. While they were upset they knew there was nothing to do about it but keep on trying which made the husbands happy.


    When he got to Ash and Lauren, Kyle checked and found a newly conceived foetus present. This was only around a month old assuming Kyle was remembering his biology correctly. The situation here was different from the young girl as the energy attacking was greater than that healing. Lauren had recently broken through to level 7 and Kyle thought this was why the energy was greater.


    It still didn''t answer the question as to why the mana was attacking. Kyle began to breakdown what he understood of pregnancy. When the baby is conceived it will be connected to its mother for blood and nutrition, also in this new world it will also draw mana. Once the baby has gestated it will be born in what some people consider a true act of beauty but in Kyle''s opinion it looked like something from alien.


    As Kyle was thinking along this silly line of thought he had an epiphany.


    "Kids are parasites!"

 91 Chapter 91 Kyle is the godfather

    "Kids are parasites!"


    Everyone heard Kyle''s exclamation and was now looking at him with a concerned look on their faces. Why did he shout something like that out while looking so excited, Landon truly worried about his son sometimes it was as though some outside force was wreaking havoc with his mind and controlling his actions.


    Kyle was ignoring everyone who was questioning his sanity and their life choices that ended with them following him. He was busy thinking his way through this; mana was a positive force within the human body but it as in two forms. The first form was controlled through the spirit realm and was released through the use of a medium in this case it was the nodes. The second form was mana that was left to roam freely within the body.


    It was the second form which was the problem, the first form was actually nourishing the foetus but the second form was seeing the foetus draining resources such as nutrients and blood, was reacting as if it was an infection or in Kyle''s view a parasite and so tried to eradicate it.


    The mana response was more aggressive at higher levels as more mana was present in both forms but the more mana in the first form wasn''t sent to the foetus until the second form completely overtook it and destroyed the foetus before it was strong enough to resist.


    Now Kyle had a hypothesis the question now was how could this be sorted out? They couldn''t use pills or potions as the effect on the foetus may be unexpected. Kyle didn''t want to risk the little lives that were already forming and he was sure as hell not going to risk a sibling or his mothers well being on something with an unknown quantity.


    Seals may be an option but what about after the child was born. Kyle could break a seal easily but not many could, it may be something to think about later but without some experimenting Kyle wasn''t sure what he could do.


    This left only one option, that being the good old fallback arrays. This needed to be something relatively simple and innocuous so people outside the family wouldn''t pick up on it. Plus this could work as a means of securing the loyalty of those who join. He wouldn''t use this as an enticement or means of blackmail, instead this would be like a signing bonus ''join our team and get a kid''.


    Kyle was getting ahead of himself as he first had to work out how to do this. What array could be used ''illusion'' nope not good enough ''concealment'' nah how would you conceal it from energy ''shield'' possibly but no it''s good for physical attacks not mana ''light'' are you stupid? Kyle was running through the arrays he knew when he suddenly realised what he could use. ''Barrier'' one of the first arrays he learnt, it blocked attacks of mana and if he tweaked it right it could use the attacking mana to power itself after it was activated.


    Now how to apply this, mana wouldn''t prevent the flow of blood or nutrients to the foetus as it doesn''t block anything physical so how is the best way to apply this. Well the ''barrier'' doesn''t need a fixed form as long as it has enough mana and has some definitions within the control ring so the answer is form the barrier within the wall of the womb while allowing the mana to still flow along the umbilical cord.


    Kyle reached down and grabbed some paper and begun to furiously write as he was thinking on his feet. This didn''t need to be a complex array as it would only need a ''barrier'' glyph with a defined control ring.


    As he was writing everyone was watching as before his outburst he had checked Lauren and had a worried look on his face then he shouted then had a thoughtful look and was now scribbling at an incredible pace. Suddenly he called out.


    "You blacksmith guy go grab some of those leather bracers from the stores, Ash grab my engraving tools from my room, Liam I need rounded stones of about 2 inches in diameter you should be able to find some in the pool in the garden." Kyle looked up at them before he shouted out with an angry look on his face.


    "Why are you still here move!"


    All three jolted when he said this and rushed out leaving their bemused partners and members of the house. Kyle carried on scribbling and crossing out various symbols for the control ring he was creating. The three who were now running to do as Kyle instructed didn''t question his orders as regardless of how laid back he was normally, Kyle was the true master of the house in more than just name and he had earned their respect as such.


    "Kyle is everything okay you seem more intense than usual?" Landon was growing concerned with his son''s rapid switching.


    Most people weren''t around when Kyle was working usually in fact it was just mostly the girls with Bruno occasionally making an appearance who knew how chaotically Kyle worked. He jumped from one project to another, making ground breaking advancements before dismissing them as useless or inadequate before doing something else.


    "Oh sorry dad I just need to deal with this quickly for mum, if I''m right this will sort out the fertility problem. I''m still wondering why beasts don''t have this issue though. Well I''ll look into it later; it will make for an interesting side project I suppose."


    Landon was looking at Kyle with his mouth open before looking at the equally shocked people in the room. The issue with the fertility of the cultivators had plagued the world for as long as they knew and in less than three hours Kyle said he had a possible answer. Maybe it would be best for their fragile minds if they just bowed to the inevitable as Kyle''s plot armour was far too strong.


    Kyle was once again concentrating on his work, Ash was the first to return as he only had to go a one door over but it took him a couple of minutes to find Kyle''s engraving kit. Kyle could use ''shaping'' to give an overall shape to things and he could also project arrays within an object. Kyle had been doing engraving for a while however as he found that by engraving the array with the correct control ring it would be able to draw mana from the air like he had seen with some of the arrays around the bastions.


    Kyle couldn''t see any engravings on these self sustaining arrays but he could detect subtle differences on the texture of the walls where they were present. Kyle found after studying these areas with his soul sense that the projected arrays had engraved themselves on a molecular level without it being visible.


    The blacksmith guy was the next to arrive with an armful of soft leather bracers. There wasn''t much else to say about these as they were just used as wrist supports while training or when people were using bows. The only thing that could be said was they had a lot of them in many different sizes.


    Liam was the last to arrive with a handful of flat pebbles. He deposited them on Kyle''s desk next to the rest of the thing already present. Kyle continued planning while the others quietly told the three returnees what he was trying to do leaving them amazed and looking at Kyle with hope, not just for themselves but for everyone.


    Kyle finished with his plan and without even looking up grabbed the first pebble of the stack and his etching tool and began to use his mana through the tool and started engraving his new array into it. Kyle''s tool was made with iron, adamantine and mithril so it would be able to easily etch various materials without blunting and could use the mana imbued into it to form an almost impossibly sharp edge.


    Kyle was focusing on his work and was gradually making progress on the small array on the face of the stone. This was highly detailed work and Kyle was immensely focused on it, this was for Maria''s happiness after all. Even if Kyle wasn''t her true son he knew how much she cared for him so this was the least he could do for her.


    It took almost half an hour before Kyle had finished his etching. While most would be shocked at this speed Kyle was instead frustrated it had taken this long, but with working on such a small surface it was to be expected. The others seeing Kyle had finally sat back leaned forward to inspect what he had done.


    Even if Kyle was unhappy, the quality of his work was there for all to see. The array didn''t look useful instead it appeared as nothing more than ornamentation, which was good as hopefully no one would realise its true purpose. Kyle picked up one of the bracers and began to make some alterations to it. By cutting a small section of leather away around the strapping Kyle was able to insert the stone safely within.


    "Okay I need a volunteer, not either of the ladies who are with child however. I need to check the function of this array and don''t want to risk anything dangerous happening to the children."


    Everyone looked amongst themselves before Nettie stepped up.


    "I''m okay if you want to use me for this; I''m already old so if I can help that''s fine."


    "Nettie you don''t have to worry I just need to make sure that there is no interruption of mana where there shouldn''t be."


    With that Kyle placed the bracer over Nettie''s wrist and directed a small burst of mana to the array to start it up. You may wonder why Kyle needed to start up the array if it was able to draw mana from the atmosphere but this was simply like having to jumpstart it allowing the array to begin functioning as it should.


    Kyle inspected Nettie once he started the array and could find no problems with the barrier that was produced and could even see the ''barrier'' was already absorbing the mana which would usually flow through that area of her body correctly powering itself without relying on the mana drawn from the atmosphere.


    Seeing it was functioning properly Kyle checked Nettie was okay.


    "Are you okay? Any discomfort or anything unusual?"


    "No I feel fine, I think I can feel a little tingle in my belly but it''s starting to go away now."


    Kyle inspected once again and could see nothing different so he believed this was just her sense of the ''barrier'' activating. So he took back the bracer and was ready to try it out on someone who really needed it.


    "Okay Lauren it''s your turn now. We''ll do this slowly just so we can make sure nothing unexpected happens okay?"


    "Yes Kyle we trust you."


    With that Kyle placed the bracer over her wrist and began slowly placing mana into the array. There was no difference between powering it this way as opposed to how he powered it when Nettie was wearing it barring the speed of the ''barrier'' forming.


    Kyle was inspecting as he was charging the array and saw the barrier slowly taking shape protecting the foetus and slowly blocking more and more of the hostile mana. Once the array was at 50% Kyle stopped charging it and let the array complete the rest.


    The ''barrier'' eventually reached full power and there were no adverse effects meaning it was a success. The foetus was still receiving mana through the umbilical and was now getting everything it needed without any problems.


    Kyle finally sat back and could relax. He gradually had a bright smile appear on his face as he thought of the face Maria would make when she found out what he had done. Ash and Lauren were now on cloud nine as were the rest of the couples when they realised this meant they would be able to have a family. Lauren turned to Kyle with a determined look on her face as she had a request for him.


    "Kyle when our baby is born we would like to ask you to be the godfather."

 92 Chapter 92 When the world gives you pancakes

    "Kyle when our baby is born we would like to ask you to be the godfather."


    Kyle on hearing this request sat back in his chair and jutted out his lower jaw. This was an interesting request should he accept or not was the question however. If he accepted would they owe him a favour? While the day may never come when he would call in that favour, but one day he may call upon them for a service but until that day they could consider this as a gift.


    "I would be happy to be your child''s godfather but isn''t there anyone else you would prefer to offer this honour to."


    Kyle came out of his delusions and asked this question as he knew both Ash and Lauren were friendly with most of the household and Ash in particular was very close to the members of ''death watch''.


    "Kyle if I''m speaking candidly, I can''t think of anyone else better suited. You pulled us all together and made us one large family. While I love all the others you lead and protect us so I think you are the perfect candidate."


    Lauren gave her reasoning while Ash merely nodded from behind her, happy that Kyle had given them the ability to have this child.


    "Okay just let me know what I need to do and well get this sorted out then. If there''s nothing else we should all get to dinner. Oh before I forget when you begin work tomorrow can you create some bracelets to hold these array stones from metal. These bracers are only temporary and I want a more permanent solution."


    Kyle directed this instruction to the young blacksmith who was more than happy to do this for him. He was thinking of how he would design this as he knew that metal may disrupt the flow from the array so the array would need to be very close or better if it was in contact with the skin.


    With all of this out of the way Kyle led the group down to have some dinner. Landon was walking alongside his son while thinking about how he should tell his wife the good news. Kyle seemed to understand his father''s desire to his mother about the progress he had made and the new future he had opened up for him but Kyle decided to dissuade him from telling her.


    "Dad I would advise you not to tell mom about the array. We''ll give her a bracelet with the array in it once they''re made, there may be a delay until she can conceive so I don''t want her to worry. Is that okay?"


    Landon hearing what Kyle said realised that the expectation of having a child may push his wife into depression if she didn''t conceive straight away so he couldn''t help but agree with Kyle''s reasoning and decided to follow his guidance.


    As they were approaching the kitchen the air was rent by a loud and obnoxious shout.


    "HEY BOYO WERE YOU BEEN?"


    It was of course the emergence of Susan; she had somehow appeared without anyone noticing and announced her presence in such a way just to hear her own voice. When Landon heard her voice he shivered before he began looking for an escape route. Seeing Landon trying to bolt Kyle quickly gripped his arm before he spoke to Susan.


    "Welcome back Susan, how is my mother doing?"


    "She''s calmed down now, I know you didn''t mean anything by what you said but be gentle with her."


    "Really Susan and how did you manage to calm her down if I may ask?"


    "Well it was simple really, do you know that the lounge in your mansion has a bar and one of your men called Dylan can make a drink called long island ice tea?"


    "Yes I taught him how to make it, where is mom right now?"


    "Um now you ask last time I saw her she was lying on the floor *hic**burp*."


    "Dad could you go and check on mum I think she''ll be quite drunk?"


    Receiving a reprieve Landon moved off at speed while Susan was looking at where he was standing previously with her eyes beginning to drop.


    "Landon why don''t you man up Maria really likes you but you act like a penguin with a banana. Hey who are you handsome do you want to come with me I have some nice sweets."


    Susan directed her first sentence to the now departed Landon but what was that about a penguin? Before she directed her drunken gaze to Kyle, it appeared the alcohol had caught up with her suddenly and she was now in a proper state.


    Kyle looked back hoping to get help from those who were following him only to be greeted by an empty hallway. It looked as if they knew where this would be going and decided to run for the hills.


    "So Susan can I ask how many long island ice tea''s did you have."


    "What you talkin bout I''ve almost managed to finish half of one and I ain''t going home you can''t tell me what to do! Please don''t hate me I didn''t mean it nobody likes me*hic*. What was I saying? Oh yeah you were gonna show me the ponies."


    *Thump*


    With that Susan passed out face first on the floor. It was truly impressive that as a third stage cultivator she could get that drunk on half a glass. Kyle was just rubbing his forehead and was lamenting how he got embroiled in this situation.


    He bent over and picked up the small lady in a princess carry before heading to the stairs leading to the second floor. She had an allocated room ever since her first visit so Kyle decided to drop her off before heading down for dinner.


    The only thing Kyle was grateful for was that Susan was an early finisher and he wouldn''t have to deal with a drunk who if she could focus would have no problem kicking his butt from sunrise to sundown.


    Reaching her room Kyle laid her gently on the bed and took off her shoes. Looking at her laying there Kyle couldn''t help but smile as she was truly a force of nature when she was awake but when she slept she was rather cute *FAAAAAARRRRRTTTTT*. Well that image was broken rather quickly when Kyle was assailed by an ungodly stench when Susan broke wind.


    Diving out of the room Kyle gulped down fresh air and could only say.


    "How can someone healthy produce such a smell, it''s not natural it''s even close to an attack on its own."


    Leaving the stink bug to herself Kyle headed back to the kitchen and was greeted by his friends and the traitors who left him to deal with the drunken Susan. Seeing their greeting Kyle just looked at them before he headed over to the girls and Bruno.


    Seeing the breakdown of his friends Kyle was thinking he could do with some more male friends as the oestrogen around him was getting to be to strong but there was nothing to do but carry on. As they were chatting Bruno brought up the upcoming tournament.


    "So Kyle your father is going to be putting us up for the tournament. How far should we go or should we keep a low profile."


    Kyle didn''t even need a second before he responded.


    "Screw keeping a low profile, we need to show them who they''re screwing with. We push as hard and as far as possible. We will be among the youngest in the tournament so we will show the future of our family. We''ll also be training the older members including my cousins so you''ll be working as my assistant."


    "Got it are we talking ''feel the burn'' or are we talking ''move or die'' training?"


    This was something the people Kyle had trained had come up with. This was based on some of the things he shouted at them trying to motivate them so they had created 2 different training styles the ''move or die'' was the training he had given to ''shadow hand'' in the beginning and was much harsher.


    "Definitely ''move or die'' we need to make sure they don''t embarrass us during the competition."


    "Oh those poor men." Miranda of course being gentle felt bad for these lost souls.


    "I will mourn their passing." Clara didn''t worry too much as she didn''t know these people too well.


    "I want my pancakes." And Elena was well Elena.


    Alena was sat with them and she was watching their interactions with an amused gaze. She would sometimes join in but she was more reserved than Kyle''s girls and generally just enjoyed being with them.


    "I would like some pancakes as well."

 93 Chapter 93 No more pancakes

    "I would like some pancakes as well."


    A sultry voice sounded from behind Kyle, looking over his shoulder he saw Faye was standing there. She had recently been establishing a working relationship with some of the other brothels in the city, this relationship was that ''shadow hand'' would protect them and in return the working girls would provide 10 percent of their take and any information they gleaned from their clients.


    This was a similar deal to what had been established with the girls working with Lady Sparrow (she still wouldn''t tell them her real name). With these agreements in place a lot of gangs had lost a lot of money so they had established safe houses for the girls which are heavily protected.


    The girls at Lady Sparrow''s brothel had all taken the servant seal but had only been given the first level of the ''breath of deliverance'' as they weren''t core members. Lady Sparrow had also begun instructing them in yoga to increase their flexibility; this coupled with the better technique meant the quality of the girls was much higher than other places.


    "All right Faye grab a seat, so tell me have the girls put on their red lights?"


    Faye sat down a couple of seats down and thought about Kyle''s question.


    "Yes the girls have all begun working again and One has organised regular patrols to ensure their safety. The girls have noticed something and I thought you should know."


    "Oh really what''s the problem?"


    "Not really a problem but the girls are saying a lot of their punters recently are gang members and mercenaries they don''t know. These girls share info and know which punters are dangerous so they know when someone new is on the scene. It wouldn''t have flagged up except for the numbers, there are far more than there usually are and the fact that there have been no turf wars and these guys are paying up without an issue is suspicious."


    "Hum do you know anything else about these outsiders?"


    "Well they say they change when the sun goes down."


    "Are they scummy men?"


    "Yes and some of them have a carriage driving ban."


    "Right it looks like the information we received recently is correct, can you contact the council members as I need everyone to know what''s happening and to get ready."


    Faye nodded her head before heading out. She didn''t know what the situation was herself yet but knew Kyle would inform her during the meeting. The council was something Kyle put together a little while ago and composed of the division heads along with their nearest subordinates.


    "Hey Elena you wanted pancakes didn''t you come on I''ll make you some while the others are still eating."


    "Yay Kyle you''re the best can I have whipped cream on top." Elena asked with excitement on her face which brought a smile to the faces of everyone one around them.


    "Yes whatever you want."


    "Whoopee!" With that she lunged towards Kyle bringing him into a hug and suddenly kissing him solidly on the lips.


    Silence, everything suddenly became dead quiet and still Clara and Miranda were still seated with shocked and scandalized looks on their faces, Alena and Bruno were moving their sight from one of their friends to another without stopping or rest.


    After a second somebody in the surroundings suddenly wolf whistled which broke this trance and everyone began babbling and laughing all at once.


    "I wondered how long it would take."


    "The boy has become a man."


    "Are you going to take responsibility?"


    "Take me too."


    "My baby missed her chance it seems."


    Kyle could hear all of this but didn''t know how to process it so he just dismissed it and just looked at Elena who had a confused look on her face. Even though she had absorbed the memories of the other Elena she couldn''t always understand them due to her incalculable time spent in the chaos realm.


    "Elena why did you kiss me?"


    Elena tilted her head sideways slightly and pondered for a few seconds before she responded.


    "Well it seemed to be the right situation to do it. I''ve read some books and they seem to have bits like this in them and once the characters kiss the man picks up the lady and carries her to the bed and then *uumpppfff*."


    Kyle had placed his hand over her mouth preventing her from continuing before looking around. He could see the amusement in the adult''s eyes and the confused looks in the kid''s eyes while a few had different looks to them.


    "Elena I''m going to take my hand away and all I want you to tell me is the name of the book okay?"


    Elena nodded her head so Kyle slowly took his hand away.


    "The book was called ''The lonely mistress and the fast finger''."


    *Cough* Kyle was amazed at the title and now felt a burning curiosity as to the content of the book and how such a story would end. This was purely for scientific reasons and wasn''t because he had recently started puberty. Ah the joys of going through puberty twice but hey at least this time he knew what to expect.


    "Okay everyone I want to know who brought in that book because it isn''t from the library. Just so you know if I don''t know who brought it in everyone will be having ''move or die'' training for the next 2 weeks."


    With Kyle''s proclamation everyone at the table began to look at the others around the table with accusing eyes. Very slowly a shaking hand was raised which drew everyone''s attention. Seeing who was attached to the hand everyone could only face palm because of course it was everyone''s favourite idiot Dylan.


    Dylan had Mavis sitting next to him who was red faced and seemed to be trying to not be associated with him in any way, shape or form. Dylan wasn''t red instead he was whiter than mayonnaise as he knew this time Kyle was going to put him through hell. Unfortunately Dylan seemed to have some special ability because every time he got punished he seemed to become stronger while still being as air headed as before.


    "I brought it in Lord Kyle but I didn''t leave it around the bastion."


    "Oh really so who did leave it where any innocent child could just pick it up?"


    Dylan didn''t say anything but his eyes couldn''t help but dart to the right and lock onto Randall before moving away. This wasn''t missed by Kyle who turned towards Randall and stared directly at him.


    "Um *sniff* I may have had a little too much to drink and there is a chance I may have left it in the lounge when I went to bed."


    Randall tried his best to play this off while looking like he wished he could be somewhere more pleasant like in a volcano.


    "But I didn''t find it in the lounge." Elena voiced out which surprised most of those present, Kyle began to scan the faces of everyone present and finally saw a shifty look with a red face.


    "So it was you, would you care to explain yourself?"


    "Well I was just curious and when I realised what kind of book it was I tried to hide it."


    "So it was your fault so you, Randall and Dylan are all going to receive the extra special training as this is all of your fault."


    With that the three lowered their heads while they lamented their fate when suddenly a voice piped up.


    "Mom I can''t believe you would read something like that." This was from a red faced Clara who was staring at her mother with wide eyes.


    "Clara calm down these are things adults sometime look at but they shouldn''t be on view for unprepared minds. Can you promise me you won''t look into these things until you are at least 16?"


    "I promise, there is no way I''m looking at something like that!" Clara stated with finality but Kyle who had been with her so much could also see the curiosity in her eyes so he could only sigh and hope she didn''t find any books with reverse harems in them.


    "We still need to deal with Elena, Clara lets go it''s girls talk time." With this Miranda grabbed Elena and headed off with Clara and Alena followed behind her friends not wanting to miss out on this talk, who knows it may help her with Bruno. As they left all that remained was a mournful wail.


    "NO MY PANCAKES!"

 94 Chapter 94 Trouble with names

    "NO MY PANCAKES!"


    "Requiescat in pace." (Rest in peace in Latin)


    Kyle mourned Elena''s uncooked pancakes before he began chatting to the others who were still around. As everyone was finishing their dinners Kyle made an announcement.


    "Okay everyone listen up, there are some movements happening in the city right now, so no one is allowed to go out until we know what the situation is. I''m convening the council this evening and you''ll hear from your section leaders tomorrow. As usual if you have any questions or need any help speak to your section leader or come and find me directly."


    With this Kyle stood up and begun to head to the meeting room. This was a separate room on the second floor that Kyle had placed a large oval table in so that he could have discussions with a greater number of people if needed.


    As he was leaving he spoke to a couple of members of ''steel lotus'' and asked them to gather the remaining members of his council who weren''t present in the hall or who Faye wasn''t going to contact. Ash, Randall, Zak, Nettie, Lauren, Iris and Liam watched as Kyle left before they excused themselves and followed along to the meeting room.


    When Kyle reached the meeting room he took his seat at the head of the table and begun to wait for the others to arrive. Gradually the members trickled in. In addition to those from the kitchen came Mike (Bruno''s dad) who represented the business interests of the household and Kyle''s parents. Maria was looking a little hung over but otherwise appeared fine.


    When she saw Kyle she hurried over and hugged him. Kyle patted her back helping to calm her down before she said.


    "I''m sorry dear I didn''t mean to worry you."


    "Its fine mom, I''m just happy you''re okay."


    "Aww you pair are so cute, but why did you have to wake me up. I need my beauty sleep after all." Of course that was the reappearance of Susan. Landon tried his best to suppress a shudder and merely looked towards the day after tomorrow. It has to be said cultivation is a good thing as both Maria and Susan were back in fighting form in less than an hour.


    "Susan I hate to tell you, but I don''t think you need to worry about beauty sleep anymore because it really isn''t working."


    "Hey that was mean, Maria your boy is being a meanie to me again."


    "I''m sorry master I will reprimand him later for being so bluntly truthful."


    "Thank you...wait what how can you say these things to me. Oh Landon hello." Susan was looking for something to vent her frustration on when she spied Landon who was now trying to phase through the floor.


    "Susan can you wait till after the meeting as we need to get everyone up to speed." Kyle asked as he could read her like a book and knew she was going to target Landon for some more ''exercise''.


    "Okay Kyle but Landon don''t go anywhere after the meeting we need to have a little talk."


    As they were waiting for the remaining members to return from the city Kyle was checking how everyone was progressing in their respective fields. Randall and Nettie were still producing weapons, clothing and equipment of the highest standard currently available in the empire, even surpassing that which was available in the capital which Mike was able to freely sell through his store or through some affiliates within the city.


    Zak was happy with the flow of funds and under Kyle''s instruction had been buying large amounts of land and property within the city. Fully half of the slums were now in Kyle''s hands along with various properties within the city. These were protected either openly or secretly by the ''shadow hand''.


    Ash was speaking about the current level of his ''death watch''. The men in his command had all become highly proficient and deadly but their numbers were limited. ''Shadow hand'' and ''steel lotus'' were able to gain members by either buying or freeing slaves in the case of ''steel lotus'' or by forcing slave seals on enemies and criminals in the case of ''shadow hand''. Ash was ready to increase the ''death watches'' number but didn''t want to steal from the others recruitment pool.


    He also spoke about his members and 2 came up in his conversation, the first was Dylan you know everyone''s favourite air head. Even though Dylan may not be the brightest spark when it came to the day to day but as a soldier he was exceptional. Ash had already named him as his second in command and was training him so he would be able to command a large number of men as he already had the loyalty of most of the ''death watch''. The second man was called Luke; he was the guard who was missing an arm although he wasn''t missing that arm anymore.


    Over the course of 2 years his arm had gradually re-grown to everyone''s amazement. Rather than growing gradually from his stump, instead his bones re-grew with a thin layer of muscle and skin over time and once the bone structure was complete his muscles, tendons and veins began to increase in quantity filling out his skinny arm until it was fully replaced.


    It was funny watching him chase the kids around with his little hand. He was now Ash''s third in command and like Dylan was receiving training in command so once the ''death watch'' had grown in number they would have enough officers to effectively command them.


    Iris and Lauren spoke about the domestic affairs of the household and how they had more than enough food thanks to the underground field which was providing vegetables and grains in addition to Alena''s alchemy ingredients.


    As they were speaking Lady Sparrow and Faye arrived so the only missing members were One and Captain Tobias. Faye looked around and saw the rest were present before taking her seat accompanied by Lady Sparrow.


    "Sir I have asked One and Tobias to come to the meeting so I don''t know why they aren''t here yet." Faye said with some confusion.


    "Its fine Faye knowing them they''re doing something to help before they get here. I take it you gave them and your sister a quick brief."


    "Yes sir but only the highlights."


    "Alright well let''s get started, we can fill in One once he gets here, Susan if you can start and let everyone know the situation in the wider empire."


    With that Susan narrated about the expected separation of the northern lands from the empire and certain other aspects affecting the wider empire while Faye told everyone about the increase in bandits and mercenaries.


    "So as everyone can see our enemies should begin moving again. With the separation of us from the empire I''m expecting our local enemies to be cut off from their support so they will more openly engage us so I want us to be ready." Kyle stated what he thought the most likely scenario would be given what had happened previously. Everyone agreed that this would happen but didn''t know how to pre-empt this state of affairs and they would be on the passive side again.


    "Well I think we can start by hitting the gangs again, ''shadow hand'' is strong enough now to contend with them. ''Steel lotus'' should also get a boost from this as we free the slaves again." Ash stated his thoughts which everyone agreed with.


    "Dad I think ''death watch'' should start drawing from the family guards now. We can place the servant seal on them and given the situation we should just say to hell with the elders."


    "I agree Kyle I''ll start selecting members to join the training."


    "Can you select whole squads; we''ll swap them with squads made up of the ''death watch'' to maintain the visible numbers."


    "Good idea we don''t want it to appear as if we are weak while we are strengthening ourselves."


    "Okay now to the northern regions, as I said before we are going to activate the bastions in the three nearest cities to the beast incursion but I want to have the entire border active before the end of the year. We now have our falcon beasts which are capable of carrying a single person so we''ll arrange the necessary mana crystals to reactivate them. I''ll prepare keystones so the people we send can access the lower levels. If you have anyone who is familiar with those cities put their names up."


    "We''ll get that done sir but do you have any other plans once we are secure?" Faye asked as she didn''t have any thoughts past the current situation and was wondering what Kyle was planning.


    "Once we''ve secured our territory we will begin reorganising the infrastructure we will be administrating. I want certain laws in place and we will also be seizing the remains of the imperial army if we can. Once we''re cut off I''m expecting chaos, so we need to ensure we''re the ones who come out on top."


    Unknown to them similar meetings had been taking place or were going to take place in the near future all over the northern lands. Many people had noticed what was happening and they wanted to be the new emperor.


    As Kyle and the rest were still hatching their plans and proposing their best course of action Kyle got a notification from his bastions spirit.


    "Oh now that''s interesting. Everyone our members have arrived and they''ve brought presents." Hearing this everyone ceased their discussions and looked towards the door waiting for Tobias and One to arrive.


    After a minute the door was opened and three figures were unceremoniously thrown into the room. These figures were slightly roughed up but appeared to be men in their twenties. They were obviously warriors from their physique and the energy they possessed but now they appeared to be cowed. They gradually got to their knees but didn''t try to stand up.


    Tobias and One followed them in and on seeing the looks they were receiving only shrugged their shoulders. It has to be known that in the years that they had known each other they had become friends and rivals. It was an odd relationship but it seemed to suit them so no one questioned it.


    "So who are our new friends?" Kyle asked but he already had inkling as to their identities.


    "They are some mercenaries who were causing a ruckus in the city so my men and I took them down. We met Faye shortly after and on hearing the situation thought they may have some info. When I was on my way they tried to break free but One was close by so we decided to keep an eye on them together." Tobias responded while One was watching these men with a glint in his eye. Kyle knew he wanted to put them through his training scheme but Kyle had another thought.


    "Hey Ash looks like we may have some volunteers for your unit. So gentlemen would you be so good as to tell us your names?" Kyle asked the prisoners, he had used his ''soul eyes'' and saw they weren''t bad men just a little rowdy apparently. The man in the centre looked at Kyle before he responded.


    "We are mercenaries from the ''blood brotherhood'' I''m Daryl the one on my left is Darryl and the man on my right is Daryll."


    "Wait, wait, wait all three of you are called Daryl?"

 95 Chapter 95 A tale of three Daryls

    "Wait, wait, wait all three of you are called Daryl?" Kyle was thoroughly confused now and they hadn''t even asked them any questions yet.


    "It''s okay Lord Kyle they probably all joined the same mercenary company, found they all had the same name and became friends."


    Ash reasoned as he could see the irritation on Kyle''s face. Hearing Ash Kyle felt that this was the most likely situation so he began to think about what questions he was going to ask.


    "Actually we are brothers." The one on the right said making everyone look at them strangely while Ash''s eyebrow began to twitch.


    "Brothers like sworn brothers or brothers in arms?" Susan volunteered her thoughts but she had a bad feeling to what the response was going to be.


    "Nope same ma and pa we left our hometown together to seek our fortunes." The one in the middle responded this time while Susan he her head in her hands.


    "So just to confirm your parents called three of their sons the same name." Kyle was trying to get his brain around the situation of these brothers.


    "No I''m Daryl."


    "And I''m Darryl."


    "And last but not least I''m Daryll."


    "OH GOD DAMN IT THEY ARE EXACTLY THE SAME NAME!" Randall was getting close to snapping and everyone else just wanted this conversation to be complete.


    "Not quite you need to emphasise the different parts as you say them I''m Daryl nice and simple Darryl you need to really stretch the arr got it?"


    "Look I don''t mean to be rude but right now at this precise point in time I really don''t give a monkey''s ass." With that Kyle projected 3 slave seals and forcefully applied them to the Daryl''s in front of him.


    "What did you just do?" Daryl asked as he could feel something was different but he didn''t understand what was happening or rather he didn''t want to believe what had just happened.


    "Simple gentlemen I''ve placed you all under a slave seal. Now you will answer my questions truthfully and fully, you need to give me as much information as you can understand?"


    The three mercenaries who were now slaves could do nothing but nod their heads to their new lord. They regretted taking this contract but the offer was too good and the boss was nothing if not greedy.


    "Good now tell me where does your mercenary group hail from?"


    Kyle began with a simple question which would be easy to verify. Even though they were under the influence of the slave seal it was always best to ease people into these interrogations with simple questions to start with just to get their minds geared towards answering questions.


    "Our group comes from our hometown, it''s a low level city a few cities to the east."


    One of the Daryl''s responded as he knew there was no reason to resist. Mercenaries are the most pragmatic of soldiers and knowing they could do nothing about the situation they now found themselves in they could only respond truthfully.


    "Good and now how did your group come to be in our city?"


    "The boss got a black job request along with a lot of the other smaller merc bands around. When we were coming to the city we merged with a larger host but found out it wasn''t just mercs but bandits as well."


    "What do you mean by a black job request?"


    "They''re usually postings that don''t go through the union and are more like unofficial jobs. They usually are something to do with nobles who are fighting each other. Gotta say though this is the biggest one we''ve been involved in."


    "Oh really what do you mean by that?"


    "Well your honour we had merc bands from all over, add in the bandits and we outnumber all the guards in the city."


    "Interesting, do you happen to know who hired you and the others?"


    "Didn''t know before we got here, but we were staging outside the city when some prat in a black cloak rocked up to talk to the bosses. He told them that they needed to enter the city in small groups and stay ready to act on the day of the harvest festival."


    "Good we have a timeframe, now did you get the identity of this man in the cloak?"


    "Hold your horses I''m getting there, so when this poof was leaving a couple of us were told by the boss to follow him. It weren''t just us but a few of the other bands had men following. It were bloody hilarious, you had this pompous twat swaggering back to the city with fifty men following and he didn''t even look back. When he got to the gate he took down his hood and demanded they let him through in the name of the Miles family and flashed some kinda badge."


    "Good if the guards let him through like that it means they could confirm his identity so these people have all been brought in by the Miles family probably using the resources they gained from their backer in the capital."


    "Well sir what''ll happen to us now?"


    Finally the Daryl''s wanted to know what was going to happen to them as they didn''t want to give up their lives like this at least not without a fight. Kyle looked at them and began to hatch a plot, looking towards his generals he felt the best way to deal with this situation was to turn the enemy''s resources against them.


    "Faye, One I''m going to need you to work overtime for the next while. I want you to entrap, trick or straight up kidnap as many of the mercs as you can. We need to keep it quiet so you can use the Daryl''s to make a start with their group. Lady Sparrow I''m afraid we''ll need to use your facilities again to house these personages until I can lay a slave seal upon them. Ash these "new recruits" will be yours; I need you to train them as hard and as fast as possible. We don''t have long so I''m only aiming to weaken them and lessen their numbers. Tobias we are going to start inducting the general guards into the ''death watch'' I need you to identify good candidates for officer level. Does anyone have anything else they would like to bring to the table?"


    Kyle looked at the members of the council and could see they were thinking, finally it was Maria who spoke up.


    "The timing of the attack is going to be at the harvest festival. Do we have any idea of what time that will be?"


    Everyone looked at the Daryl''s who looked uncomfortable. They didn''t truthfully know but they didn''t want to anger their new lord so Daryl 1 decided to bluff it. When he thought of this and decided to do it he suddenly felt pain shooting through him. It was as if a thousand needles were shooting through all of his muscles at the same time leaving him a twitching blubbering wreck.


    "Daryl it isn''t a good idea to lie to me, if you don''t know the answer just tell me the truth. Oh and just so you know this doesn''t extend to other people so feel free to lie to the girl you may be dating."


    Daryl was thankful for this little mercy and gradually the pain faded away only leaving him with the fear of it. Kyle was watching these men and decided to give them a boon as they would be the newest members of his force.


    "Look I don''t know if you three are aware but in the next year or two the northern regions are going to be cut off from the capital, when that happens the army will not protect the cities only the garrisons present at that time will be left. We are preparing for that as well so if you let me know which city is your home town I will ensure it is protected."


    The Daryl''s were shocked to hear what Kyle had said because the northern lands were a massive swath of land and to let this are just fall didn''t make sense to them. However Kyle had no reason to lie to them due to the slave contract so they decided it would be best to believe in him at least for now. They looked at each other and could see the agreement in each other''s eyes. Finally it was Daryl who spoke up and let the gathered members know the name of their city.


    "Our hometown is only small we don''t even have a standing garrison so I don''t know what resources we will be able to provide you but we would appreciate your assistance."


    "No problem, anyway getting back to what we were discussing. The time of the attack will most likely be later at night probably somewhere between ten and twelve." Kyle stated his belief as he felt this was the most likely time for the enemy to strike.


    "Yes if I was going to attack the noble families in the city this would be the most sensible time due to the guards being at minimal strength and those being off duty having a chance to drink themselves into a stupor."


    Landon agreed with Kyle as he knew that at these kind of festivals the off duty guards would get hammered and even the on duty guards would be a bit sloshed. No noble would usually attempt anything during this time as it was considered extremely bad manners and may carry repercussions from the imperial overseer. But this begged the question what was the overseer going to do so Landon posited this question.


    "During this do you have any idea what the imperial overseer will be doing?"


    "Well most likely he will be with our enemies. He has no reason to side with us as we''ve made no overtures to gain his favour and he must be aware of the situation to the south but we have had no reports of him attempting to flee, so I think he is going to milk this for as much as he can."


    Faye and One agreed with Kyle as they both had separate dossiers on him, One had details of his illegal dealings which included drugs and slavery while Faye had details of several women he kept in the city and also copies of secret documents between him and the empire that ''steel lotus'' had copied. Kyle had seen all of this evidence and it wasn''t the actions of someone planning to cut and run, so his interpretation of this was that this little man was planning on building himself a little kingdom and just wait for the end in luxury. It wasn''t really a bad plan but it did sacrifice everyone else.


    While they were thinking through the upcoming battles they would be facing Kyle remembered he hadn''t got the name of the Daryl''s hometown.


    "Daryl what was the name of you hometown I''ll need to get a team over there soon?"


    "Thank you sir it''s called Scottland."

 96 Chapter 96 Of monsters and madmen

    "Thank you sir it''s called Scottland."


    "Wait, what really your city is called Scotland?" Kyle responded with shock to this name drop.


    "Not Scotland, Scottland you know its name was changed after a guy named Scott."


    "You know what I don''t care anymore. Ash, Faye and One I want you to organise your teams and have them dispatched before the end of tomorrow. Include a team to their hometown to get them up to scratch. Now any other business for real this time?"


    Everyone shook their heads while wondering why Kyle got so irritated about the city name. With this the meeting broke apart and everyone headed to do what they needed to do. Kyle didn''t like the sense of urgency he had around him right now and decided to train a little more to get as much of an advantage as he could before it all hit the fan.


    Tracking down his friends, he located them in the library thanks to the use of the bastions spirit. Once there he saw they were sitting around chatting or reading books while Elena was looking disgruntled, she was probably still fuming about the loss of her pancakes and when she saw Kyle she launched herself towards him.


    "Kyle you''re still going to make me pancakes right? RIGHT?"


    Kyle didn''t know where this obsession with pancakes was coming from but he had no problem making them for her but he decided to use them as an enticement to help her train. Out of everyone else she had the most potential to grow due to her unique "heritage", but she had no desire to gain strength and would only become serious when her brother Chad was involved or when food was at stake.


    "I''ll make you your pancakes but it will have to be in the morning now. Tonight I want everyone to continue training, there are problems in the city and I want us all to be as strong as possible. This includes you Elena or your brother may be in danger and the availability of pancakes may take a hit."


    This was Kyle''s one, two strike and it was super effective, once Kyle said this sentence the temperature suddenly dropped and a palpable feeling of dread was spread out with Elena at the centre. Kyle could almost see a ghost of the eldritch horror housed within her standing behind ready to protect her family and pancakes.


    "What do I need to do?"


    It was a simple sentence but for once there were no strange implications or running off on a tangent, this showed just how seriously she was taking this. This showed just how seriously she was taking this but Kyle didn''t want to know whether it was her brother or the threat to her sweets that had caused this change.


    "We will need to push further and longer than usual; this goes for the rest of you as well. If battle comes I won''t put you on the front lines but you have to at least have the strength to protect the youngsters."


    Clara, Miranda, Alena and Bruno all stood up at this and lined up with Elena to show they were ready to begin training. Kyle didn''t want to push their physical training in this case but rather hoped they could advance their cultivation levels. This would help them all but with Bruno getting involved in the tournament he was the one who needed the greatest improvement, just in case the enemy tried anything during the festivities as opposed to when they were expecting it.


    "Okay all of you arrange yourselves in a semi circle in front of me and start circulating your techniques, but rather than do a single loop in your nodes I want you to do five loops. I''ll keep an eye on each of you and if I tell you to slow down you''ll need to drop back to one loop, got it?"


    Kyle had limited the loops of mana his people used not because they couldn''t handle more but because they couldn''t monitor the damage and strain caused by overtaxing their spiritual systems. With the increase in his cultivation and the subsequent release of more of his soul force Kyle could monitor these few people while training himself at the same time.


    So began an intense cultivation session which lasted the whole night. As they trained Kyle would occasionally slow one of the group down to allow their body''s time to repair the strain caused before the returned to their previous level. Kyle was also pushing himself at the same time. Not as hard as during his first cultivation session but certainly more than he had done subsequently.


    During this training Kyle noted that after straining and repairing the spiritual systems his friends had become stronger systems than they had been previously. Kyle decided to push the other members of the household during the morning training but due to constraints on his soul force he would only be able to do this in groups of 8 while training his self at the same time.


    Once the sun started to rise the "study group" dispersed to clean up before heading for breakfast. Everyone in the household had a large appetite due to their daily training and the increase in their body''s needs, so as they had money flowing in from the various ventures a large amount flowed out to support them.


    Luckily with the resources gained from the fields below the mansion they had been able to offset this and with Liam taking groups out to hunt and train in the wild they could get all the meat they needed.


    Once everyone was fed and watered Kyle began to lead the training. Rather than begin with their usual physical warm-up, Kyle instead began to push their cultivation. He ordered the groups he would train with based on their location within the training grounds rather than by who was within them. He spent about half an hour with each group pushing their cultivation to the limit almost damaging their spiritual systems before winding it back allowing them to heal before pushing forward again.


    With this everyone suddenly had a boost in strength and power but this level wasn''t sustainable as the pain and stress from training like this would make people detest doing it, so with this in mind Kyle decided to do this kind of intense training once a week and would look at it again at some point in the future. One thing he had everyone promise was that they would only do this kind of high intensity cultivation if he was there with them as the chance of injury was very high and Kyle didn''t want to risk something permanent happening.


    Once the intense cultivation sessions were complete everyone began their physical training, the Daryl''s were present for this and as this was their first training session they were shocked and appalled by what was happening. As mercs they had received a lot of physical training and also punishment on various battlefields, but here they saw young boys and girls fighting more brutally and skilfully than veterans, they even doubted that if these kids were a little more powerful in their cultivation their old captain would lose miserably.


    Kyle put the Daryl''s through their paces during this session and they had to admit this training was very good for them although by the end they just ended up lying around like dead fish.


    "Just do a simple cultivation session and you''ll be fine. We''ll be doing this again tomorrow, get yourselves cleaned up when you''re ready then go and see Ash and he''ll have your posting ready for you."


    With that Kyle walked away weaving between the collapsed bodies lying haphazardly around. What had they done to get involved with these monsters and madmen?


    Kyle was leaving the field as he had received notification that his cousins and the other members of the family team had arrived so he needed to greet them. He also saw that Leonard''s son had arrived but he had also brought along his little sister.


    As he was walking to the entrance he tapped Bruno on the shoulder and indicated that he should come with him. As they were on the same team he wanted him to get to know the other members and also officially meet Leonard''s son. They already knew Ruby the daughter of the Black family as she often came to play with Chad and Theo once she met them. Archie the black family scion didn''t really come by to much as he was older than most of the youngster''s in the household but he did get on well with Kyle''s cousins.


    Once they reached the entrance Kyle commanded the door to open while he stood in the centre of the room with Bruno by his side. As the group trooped inside Kyle used his soul eyes to inspect the arrivals. He could see a little anxiousness from the two new comers but from the rest he could only sense friendship and in the case of little Ruby a little bit of excitement.


    "Hello Ruby if you want to see Chad and Theo head to the training ground they''ve just finished their morning exercise."


    "Thanks Kyle." With that she vanished off within the bastions to find her friends.


    Once Ruby had gone Kyle looked at the rest of the new group. Kyle was thinking about how he would broach the problem of teaching them his techniques and skills as even though he trusted the small outside group he couldn''t guarantee they wouldn''t tell their parents or those close to them, but as members of his family and those he had a good opinion of he didn''t want to force something on them. Before he could come up with a way to talk to them about this Neil his oldest cousin broke the ice on this issue.


    "Kyle uncle said that you are going to train us in a secret technique but in order to learn this we need to have a ''secret seal'' put on us, are you going to do it or is aunt Maria going to?"


    It looked like Landon had already thought about this issue and had already informed them of what to expect so they weren''t averse to this seal being placed on them. Archie was looking between them confused as to what they were talking about so quickly Kyle just told him that they were training in a secret technique and in order to receive it they had a seal placed on them preventing them from telling others about it. Kyle offered to teach Archie if he agreed to have this seal placed on him to which he agreed. Kyle decided to teach him this as they had few allies and with the scion of the Black family in his pocket they would have more scope.


    As they were talking and Kyle placed the seals upon them a member of ''steel lotus'' materialised beside him and passed a letter before disappearing into the shadows shocking those around them. Clyde the younger cousin saw the letter and couldn''t help but ask.


    "Kyle what is that letter about?"


    "Don''t worry it''s just some information from my inside man."

 97 Chapter 97 Ive still got i

    "Don''t worry it''s just some information from my inside man."


    Kyle hadn''t been just training in these last few years. Over time he had successfully made contact with and flipped a member of the Miles family to his side. Hey if the conspirators could infiltrate his family why couldn''t he return the favour?


    This member of the Miles family succeeded in giving him information about some of the enterprises the Miles family were involved in and Kyle and his teams had successfully broken many of them. As time had progressed the information Kyle''s inside man had provided became less in quantity but better in quality.


    Kyle would read through this letter fully later as even though they made contact through Kyle''s ''steel lotus'' the letter was still encrypted just in case and Kyle would need a little time to decode it. With that done he put the letter away in his pocket before leading this group to the training area.


    When they saw the different training the people were undertaking they were surprised as they had never seen people training in this way before. Some were doing laps others were doing yoga and other calisthenics while others were sparring, the strangest thing however was the fairly large number of people using ''soul shaping'' to train their soul force.


    "Kyle what are those people doing?" Clyde asked as he was the most bookish of this group and he knew about array projection but he could see they weren''t creating arrays.


    "That is called ''soul shaping'' it''s a training to strengthen the soul but you don''t need to worry about that for now. So guys what we are here for is to train you in cultivation and combat, this is going to be harsh but you don''t have the option to quit so get some space and I''ll guide you in cultivation first. Bruno you can do a little physical training I''ll call once we are ready for the sparring."


    Bruno nodded before happily running over to some weights and he began to do his lifting. The others saw Bruno was lifting a strange bar with arrays on the weighted ends which began to glow when he picked it up.


    "Um Lord Kyle how much is Bruno lifting?" This was asked by generic family member A who was watching Bruno strain. Kyle looked over and saw the weight Bruno was lifting and responded.


    "He''s lifting about 300kgs but he''s only doing a light workout before the spar. Okay get in your positions and I''ll instruct you in our technique, I''ll also be inspecting your spirit realms so if anyone has issue with that let me know now."


    Everyone gave Kyle permission to inspect them so Kyle gave them the techniques before analysing their cultivation. Neil had reached the first stage level 8 so just a little ahead of Kyle and at the age of 23 this could be considered as a good level. Clyde had reached level 6 with a little more too level 7 so again not bad for a 19 year old. The generic family members had reached level 5 at 17 years old and level 6 at 25 years old so again not bad just not as good as his cousins. Archie had reached level 8 the same as Neil but he was only 22 so he was a little ahead of the curve.


    Kyle saw the usual damage to the channels and nodes but out of all of them Archie had the most damage by a long stretch so it could be seen he had pushed himself too far and if Kyle didn''t intervene he would have limited his future growth.


    Once they started cultivating using Kyle''s ridiculous technique the damage they had incurred began to heal and they could feel the relief from injuries and infirmities they didn''t even know they had. Kyle began to cultivate himself while he kept an eye on these guys and after a few cycles he felt the rush of clearing all the nodes he had at level 7 he was ready to breakthrough to level 8 once he had accumulated enough mana, this had to be a record as he was still only 11 years old.


    The men were amazed at the speed this new technique was progressing but they did have an advantage over the servant, craftsmen, former thugs, guards and ex slaves that made up Kyle''s forces in that as relatively high grade members of the Powell family they had access to better resources than others.


    With that in mind they had either cleared or almost cleared some of their nodes so once they had cleared the remainder Kyle would fully open their gates. He was aiming to get as many gates fully open in the short amount of time they had as he could but he knew they wouldn''t be able to open all of them.


    Even for Kyle it had taken time to clear the level 7 nodes which numbered 512 and he could only thank the god known as Dan Aykroyd that the nodal system would clear the sub-nodes itself. As they were training Kyle was pushing them in their cultivation similar to how he was pushing his forces earlier but as they were operating at a much lower level than them he had a much easier time watching over them.


    After an hour Kyle called a halt, they had trained and were now brimming with active mana so it would be good to keep that energy moving with a training and sparring session. They began with sprinting around the yard and were joined by Bruno as he wanted to take part. In order to give them a target Kyle ran a little faster than they were capable of with Bruno running beside him. The new victims were barely keeping up while running out of breath and having sweat running down their faces in a short time, but then the final bullet came and hit them when they heard Bruno ask Kyle.


    "Hey bro why are we running so slowly?"


    With that the followers who were only hanging on now with pure will collapsed just leaving Archie and Neil in the running while Clyde and the generic family members were left in the dust. Even with their higher cultivation they Archie and Neil could barely hang on and only lasted for another half lap before falling.


    "Okay guys take a breather for five minutes then cultivate for fifteen then we''re onto the next training."


    They could only groan and move to the side and watch Kyle''s forces that were still training with even more intensity than when they first arrived. Kyle and Bruno left the bodies and began to do some training on their own with Bruno using a punching bag and Kyle was using a long weighted staff to make vertical strikes and stopping it an inch from the ground to strengthen his wrists.


    Once the 20 minutes were up the others returned and seeing what Kyle was doing were intrigued. Neil felt this would be good training for using his heavy sword and was hoping he could train like this. Kyle saw their curiosity so to keep them interested he decided to show off.


    "Alright guys do you want to try this training next?"


    "Yeah I''ll give it a go." Responded Neil as he wanted to get some dignity back.


    Kyle casually tossed the weighted staff to Neil before *clang*, Neil caught it but it weighed far too much and he couldn''t hold it so it ended up hitting the reinforced floor making a loud clanging noise like a gong being struck.


    Neil was now looking at Kyle like he was a monster. At his level Neil could lift nigh on 500kgs but what Kyle was simply swinging around weighed more than this. It showed a great deal of physical strength and control as the staff was balanced at both ends so to be able to consistently stop it an inch from the floor without falling over meant each time Kyle was finding the centre of gravity.


    Seeing their amazement Kyle felt a little bit arrogant but quickly squashed that down as he knew if he got arrogant someone may come up behind him with a knife and he wouldn''t see it because his nose was too firmly stuck up his own ass.


    So with that they restarted their brutal training, this was on a similar level to how Kyle trained the first eleven of ''shadow hand'' and during their spars Kyle and Bruno began to tag team them. Throwing them around but gradually they began to get the instructions they were being told.


    The most surprising amongst the five was Clyde who while being a little bit scholarly managed to pick up on Kyle''s teaching and took to this new style like a duck to water. As they were training Kyle was watching how they moved and attacked trying to pick up on traits and tells so he could give them an appropriate weapon to train and fight with.


    Clyde favoured a Dutch sabre while Neil had switched to a pole axe. The generic family members both leaned towards long swords and finally Archie went to a single headed great axe with a hammer end.


    Once their weapons were selected Kyle began drilling them in their use, due to having trained with so many people over the last few years Kyle had a good grasp of the pros and cons of all the weapons that he currently possessed. While he may only have a proper training schedule for swords a lot of his experience could be imparted allowing these men to develop their own style.


    He hoped that as their styles developed, they would share their experiences and this would allow them to form a proper school of combat for each of the weapons, so now came the fun part weapon sparring.


    This lasted for a few hours until all that was left was five bodies while Bruno and Kyle were having a little spar themselves just so they didn''t fall into bad habits. After Kyle had won again they began to tidy up and Kyle wanted to check the letter he had received when he heard his girls calling out.


    "Hey Kyle it looks like you had a good session."


    "Yup all five down, I''ve still got it."

 98 Chapter 98 Broken rose

    "Yup all five down, I''ve still got it."


    Kyle looked around with a look of satisfaction as he felt satisfied with today''s training, with a little luck he would be able to whip these guys into shape before the tournament and Archie and Neil could have a good fight as they were in the same age category.


    Stepping over the bodies he and Bruno headed to the girls and Bruno took a page out of Elena''s book and kissed Alena in greeting making her glow red in embarrassment before she looked at her friends from the corner of her eye.


    Kyle was just grinning while Clara and Miranda were staring at her with wide eyes before they looked at Kyle hoping he would do something. Elena however was looking at a bird in a tree and making *cheep* sounds.


    Kyle saw the looks he was receiving but chose to ignore them for now as he didn''t believe he should kiss the girls just because someone else kissed their girlfriend. Kyle was still a little uncomfortable about this situation due to his mental age and their true youthfulness but he was physically the same age and with his hormones currently being at war it was getting harder and harder to resist.


    "Could you make sure these guys are okay and make sure they stay for dinner? If we are training together they should join in with the rest of our house."


    Clara and Miranda were a little disappointed that Kyle hadn''t acted but still nodded their heads at his request. Regardless of if he wanted to be with them or not they were devoted to him, if only they knew of the conflict raging inside him between his reason and his puberty. Elena was still making noises at the bird in the tree so everyone decided to leave her to it.


    Kyle left the training ground and took a quick shower and changed his clothes before taking the letter to his study and quickly decoded it. The letter contained information about the upcoming tournament and also about the large number of hostiles who were descending on New Grange City. Kyle knew most of what was there but there was a good amount of corroboration and even some specifics about the groups and their locations within the city which Kyle would pass onto ''shadow hand'' for their campaign against them.


    Within the letter were also details about the agreement between the Miles family and their benefactor in the capital. As Kyle believed this benefactor had decided to cut their losses after they received details about the beast attack and the resources that had been promised were now being redirected to elsewhere in the southern regions of the empire. Reading into this Kyle believed that the situation in the city in particular and the northern regions in general would devolve quickly and without funding the Miles family and co-conspirators would quickly lose control of the gangs and mercs they had brought in leading to a total collapse of authority within the city.


    Kyle had already begun his preparations for this so he could only wait for the situation to progress further before he could truly act, but the longer they could stall the greater his forces would become. The final note within the letter was a specific location within the Miles family compound which had several detection and protection arrays laid out. These defences were detailed and included some observed weak points. With this was a sentence that caught Kyle''s attention with the deeper and more rushed penmanship. ''They''re here I beg of you begin your operation as soon you can''.


    Kyle went over the details of this area of the enemy''s estate and saw several areas that he could breach and also some areas which probably contained traps his man wasn''t aware of. This area was separate from the main family compound and although the area was pretty and the building was well appointed, there were bars over the windows and there was always a guard contingent on station.


    This was part of his agreement with his spy and Kyle would have probably dealt with this area even without this deal so after thinking and planning for a while he took out a black onyx disc from his desk. This stone was about an inch thick and three inches in diameter, it also had a small array etched on the surface. Kyle placed this disc on his desk and placed his hand above it while not touching it.


    Sending his mana through the array it began to glow with a soft orange light for a moment before the light turned green and Kyle put the gem back into his desk before sitting and waiting. It took about 15 minutes until a soft knock was heard on his door.


    "Come in please."


    Faye opened the door and entered before closing the door behind her. The disk Kyle had used was a means of signalling his people, Kyle had issued one to each of his higher ranked members the disk he used to send was larger than the receiver his people had so they could easily carry and conceal it. Kyle hadn''t used it to call the meeting as currently it only had one signal so this was a call saying ''get your butt over here'' so he didn''t want people to panic when all he wanted was a meeting.


    "Sir what can I do to serve you?"


    Gone was the teasing and happy feeling, what was left was a subordinate waiting for the orders of their lord even if that meant their death. This was what a call with one of these array ''pagers'' meant, if you were called like this it meant there was an important mission and everything else must wait.


    Kyle gave the decoded letter to Faye without saying anything allowing her to read it and understand the situation. Faye was aware of Kyle''s spy and his identity, she was even aware of the specifics of their deal. Finishing reading the letter she placed it on Kyle''s desk before standing at attention waiting for her orders.


    "Faye you are going to prepare for operation ''broken rose'' I want to do this tonight. I''ll be coming as support and as an array breaker; you''ll be running the second team. This is a black mission so I want'' no witnesses, you can leave the bodies to be found as after this the peace will be broken do you understand?"


    "Yes sir, where will be the safe house?"


    Kyle smirked at this as he already had a place in mind.


    "Why don''t we use somewhere right under their noses? The bastion in their territory is now fully stocked I believe, so there sounds good to me."


    Faye returned his smirk while her eyes sparkled. In the last few years her and ''steel lotus'' had been involved in many missions but this would be the first time they had directly attacked a noble family and their guards. Her opinion of the Miles family was already low before she had joined Kyle and after seeing the crap they were dealing in over the last few years her opinion had fully turned to disgust.


    "Yes sir I''ll have everyone ready at sundown."


    "Good we''ll be staging from the wall so have everyone make their way to the tower on the western gate. Remember this has to be perfect so everyone will need to have their game faces on."


    Faye saluted before she left, this would be a busy few hours as she would need her girls to gear up and gather so before she left she grabbed the members still within Kyle''s home and sent them to the other operational zones in the city to gather the assigned fighters of ''steel lotus''.


    Kyle was still sitting at his desk reading the letter again, after tonight the fight will move out of the dark and into the light. He couldn''t think of anything else that could help with this situation so instead he moved to his room and opened the attached personal armoury within.


    Arrayed on various stands were different kinds of armour and weapons. Kyle took down a dark armour and mask ready for tonight and looked at the weapons he had to choose from. He took a belt with 15 throwing knives and took 2 kukri knives as his selection for tonight''s mission.


    Looking over his gear he was happy with his selection once his decision was made he headed down to the kitchen and chatted and laughed with his people. He only had a bowl of soup and some bread as experience had taught him it would be a bad idea to do this on a full stomach. The others picked up on this but didn''t say anything as they knew how Kyle did things and if he didn''t tell them it was because they didn''t need to know.


    Finishing his meal he headed out while his girls followed him out. Everyone watched him leaving with a worried gaze. Neil, Archie and Clyde noticed this and finally Clyde asked.


    "What''s wrong with you guys, why do you look nervous?"


    "Lord Kyle is going to go on a mission tonight and because he didn''t say anything it means it must be important." Zak responded to Clyde''s question but his eyes never left the door.


    "What do you mean a mission and how do you know?"


    Neil was now intrigued as he had served in the army and the feeling these people gave off was similar to when a veteran was sent off on a mission and his long term compatriots would worry for his well being.


    "We''ve all been together for a long time now and we work as one." Ash responded simply as he looked at these new fish.


    Returning to Kyle he entered his room with Elena, Clara and Miranda following. Changing into a pair of loose dark green cotton trousers and a dark blue t-shirt Kyle was ready to gear up but Miranda and Clara grabbed his armour and began fitting it and attaching the weapons to the prepared hard points before passing him his mask so he was ready.


    Seeing the girls standing there worrying about him Kyle felt his heart go to them and finally he approached them before kissing Miranda then Clara and finally Elena. Miranda and Clara were surprised and happy while Elena touched her lips with a little smile on her face.


    "I''m going now wish me luck."


    "Good luck and come back to me safely." Miranda said with wet eyes.


    "Good luck Kyle and kick some ass." Clara said with a fierce look and red cheeks.


    "You don''t need luck but do come back as you still need to take my virginity."

 99 Chapter 99 Operation starts

    "You don''t need luck but do come back as you still need to take my virginity."


    Kyle wondered that if during Elena''s possession and healing if her brain wasn''t healed correctly. He was sure she understood the meaning of her words and the cultural implication from the memories of the previous Elena but she didn''t seem to care.


    "I''m a going to be a bit busy so we''ll talk about it again in a few years okay?"


    Kyle responded with a deadpan look while Clara and Miranda only watched, they seemed to be dead to the things Elena said now and only watched on in silence. Elena smiled at Kyle before she jumped into his bed and burrowed down evidently planning on sleeping here.


    Kyle gave up and just looked at himself in the mirror checking everything was in place before putting his mask on. He used a magic from the darkness branch and phased into the shadows. The protection arrays around the bastion let him through as he was cleared to pass through like the others of his forces but if anyone else tried to enter they would be forcefully rejected.


    Sticking to the shadows Kyle made his way to the rendezvous point to wait for the coming of ''steel lotus''. While he was waiting Kyle looked through the archers redoubts at the Miles family estate. He could see people moving around but as time passed they became fewer in number while darkness began to encroach upon the city.


    The members of ''steel lotus'' began to arrive in small groups of 2-3 people until there were 30 people present plus Kyle and Faye. Faye was standing behind Kyle waiting for his orders as he was still watching the estate.


    Finally Kyle looked away and turned to ''steel lotus'', he switched his view between them and saw that these were the ladies who had largely been involved in the espionage and assassination campaign he had been waging in the last year.


    After his existential crisis when he had first tortured and put a dead body on display Kyle had taken on a different mindset. Because of what he had been through including his death he had a stronger mentality and after thinking about his actions he had finally formalised his feelings into a philosophy of ''I will protect what''s mine''. He would follow his morality for those who are innocent and those who aren''t evil in his view. This made him more like a vigilante rather than some paragon of justice.


    With a plan in mind Kyle used ''soul shaping'' to project an image of the exterior of the compound they were going to attack. Like his bastion there were various protection arrays laid out so before they could enter these would need to be disabled.


    "Faye I want you and 5 of your ladies to be ready at this point on the south wall. There is a protection array without any alarm arrays around it so when I drop the protection array you''ll be able to get in fast. The rest of you should range out in a rough encirclement and take out any incoming or stray guards outside the walls. I''ll be hitting the north wall here, there are several protection arrays overlapping at this point so if I break it here it''ll cause a large breach so if the detect it they won''t know exactly where I''m passing through. If no one had anything to say let''s get moving."


    As Kyle had been laying out his plan of action he was indicating the points on the projection letting everyone know where they needed to be. Faye indicated who she wanted on her team before assigning one of her trainees as the leader of the outside team. Once they were ready they all phased into the shadows before heading to the compound.


    As they approached Kyle could feel the various members peeling away to their assigned tasks before he was left on his own. Approaching the wall Kyle saw two guards walking along the outer boundary so Kyle pulled one of his knives free and waited for the right moment. As they walked past his hidden location Kyle pushed his mana into the blade and threw it with force.


    The blade cut through the air without any sound and in a second it sliced through the neck of the first guard before it stuck in the neck of the second. The first guard was down without have a chance to even realise what had happen while the second had enough time to place his hand to his neck where the blade was sticking out from before he also collapsed.


    Kyle walked over and looked down at them for a moment before he retrieved his blade and wiped the blade on their clothes before replacing the blade in his belt. He continued to the wall and used his soul sight to see the full layout of the arrays he would need to break.


    It looked as though he had overestimated the protection that was present at this compound. Even though the arrays matched what was in the letter he had received from his spy they weren''t connected to the alarm arrays. This was like having a house alarm which would go off if the door was opened but wouldn''t if it was a window.


    Seeing as Kyle didn''t need to worry about the alarms rather than slowly break the array while separating the alarm he just used his OP soul force and shattered the protection arrays. The glyphs glowed brightly for a second due to the sudden influx of soul energy before they overloaded and fused. This caused feedback to the mana crystal present in the compound which disrupted the other arrays causing them to fail leaving the compound completely open.


    Faye was waiting at the south wall and when she saw all the arrays collapse simultaneously she was shocked. During her time training Kyle had taught her about arrays and the ways to break them, from her understanding she was expecting Kyle to create a small opening in the protection array on his side so he could enter before going to the mana crystal and disable it. For the arrays to collapse like this and for it to happen so fast meant that the people who created this place were useless at best and intentionally trying to screw this family at worst. But hey ho it worked for them so Faye waved her people forward to begin the attack.


    Faye and her girls used their enhanced physiques to jump to a second floor window without the use of mana reaching the window Faye used her tanto blade infused with mana to simply cut away the iron bars before entering. The room they were in appeared to be a bedroom of ''interesting'' properties. There were various implements strewn around and the bed and a wall mounted device had cuffs and straps fixed to their frames. It was obvious what the intent for this room was so the girls quickly moved to the door. As they stacked up to the side of the door Faye used a sense magic from the life branch to see if there was anyone around. There was no one close by but about 20 meters along she could sense someone slowly moving away.


    Using hand signals she ordered 2 members to head that way to capture or kill whoever was there while she and the other 3 would try to see where the other targets may be. In 3, 2, 1 they moved opening the door quietly the 2 rushed down the hall on silent feet while Faye and the others ranged out to see what was around.


    The sense magic Faye used only had a limited range so even though she knew there was no one close by they still needed to be careful. In short order the 2 who had gone after the target returned, they had the target in their hands and it turned out to be a girl of around 16-17 years old. When she saw Faye and her girls in full armoured ninja gear she was scared but after the abuse she had suffered she could tell from their eyes that they didn''t mean to hurt her so she calmed slightly.


    Faye looked at this girl for a second and could see the involuntary flinch when the girls got to close or moved a hand too quickly. After spending so much time dealing with slaves she could tell this girl had been beaten and hurt to the point her reaction were autonomic. Slowly Faye pulled down her mask before she spoke to the girl.


    "We''re here to help, can you let me know how many guards are around and where they usually are located?"


    The girl looked at them with questions but as she was about to say something she gasped before clutching her stomach. Faye recognised this reaction; it was caused by a slave contract triggering and causing pain to the contracted person and if it wasn''t released it would lead to death. Faye pulled out a round golden charm and placed it over the girl''s chest before putting her mana into it.


    After a small buzzing sound the girl looked up with a surprised expression, the pain she feared was gone. What Faye had done was to use an etched seal to supersede the seal which was inside the girl. Due to Kyle having prepared this for her previously it was far stronger than the seal the girl had placed upon her.


    "Now dear can you let me know about the guards?" Faye coaxed her once again as she had a job to do.


    "Yes benefactor there are 40 guards in the compound, they are usually within the guard room on the first floor at this time with a few checking the halls once in a while. They''ll usually walked in teams of 2 along the main throughways and they aren''t permitted to come up here without a reason."


    "Good and where would the other "residents" be at this time?"


    "They should be in the baths but some may be in their rooms."


    "Okay can you hide in that room behind us? We''ll need to move fast and I can''t guarantee we can protect you."


    "Of course that room doesn''t bother me I''ve been in there too many times to care anymore."

 100 Chapter 100 Here comes the BOOM

    "Of course that room doesn''t bother me I''ve been in there too many times to care anymore."


    When Faye heard this her heart went out to this girl, for her not to be affected by the torture room they had come through when they first entered meant that she had either been a witness or subjected to the perversions in that room so much that she had become desensitised to it. Faye felt even worse than the other girls within her team as she knew the truth of this compound and the reason Kyle had agreed to the assault beyond the agreement he had with his spy.


    "Okay girl if you go into the room and find somewhere to hide just in case we''ll send any girls we find your way so can you look after them?" Faye asked as she needed to get moving to complete her mission.


    "No problem I''ll see you soon." The girl responded with a little bit more energy to her voice as for the first time she felt hope kindled within her. As she was about to enter the room one of the other girls from Faye''s team spoke up.


    "Oh girl what is your name?"


    "My name is Lilith Miles."


    "Wait you''ve got the same surname as the family?"


    "Yes I''m the daughter of the family head, I won''t delay you any longer please come back soon."


    With that she entered the room and closed the door behind her. The members of ''steel lotus'' all turned and looked at Faye who met their eyes before she answered their unspoken question.


    "Yes these are the wives and daughters of the higher ranked members of the family. They treat their women as property or breeding stock. According to the Lords information when someone marries into the family they are taken here and are tortured until they willingly accept the slave seal."


    Slave seals cannot be placed on unwilling subjects, which is why it is usually done to criminals on death row or those who have taken a contract and to complete the agreement have the seal placed on signing the contract which will activate if the necessary clause activates.


    But as with all things people will find a way to circumvent those rules, in this case through sustained mental and physical "conditioning" the Miles family successfully made these women accept the seal. It was surprising Lilith had retained her mind and hope so Faye could only pray the others where in a similar state.


    With that Faye directed 3 members to head west and the other 2 and she would head east. The way the building was laid out meant that they could sweep the top floor and the first group to reach the stair way would leave one member there to monitor if anyone was coming up.


    Rushing through the second floor they moved room to room searching for anyone. In a couple of the rooms they found some women and directed them to Lilith''s location while they continued their mission. The second floor was cleared in around 10 minutes with every room checked and they met up at the staircase leading down to the first floor.


    This was where they may encounter guards and enemies but it was also where most of the women were located so they moved down the staircase in single file without making a sound. Faye took point and as they reached the bottom of the staircase she took out her blade and used the reflection from it to look down the halls without poking her head out.


    The eastern hall was clear but the western hall had 2 guards walking down it. They were heading their way so Faye indicated for the team to back it past the bend in the staircase so they were out of sight.


    Faye lowered down and used the blade close to ground level to see the doorway while being less obvious but luck wasn''t on their side. As the guards began going past one of them must have seen some reflected light or something else caught his attention, he tapped his partner on the shoulder and both turned to the staircase and began walking towards it.


    Faye made a quick decision and pulled a throwing knife from her belt while still holding her tanto blade in her other hand. She moved quickly to the back wall of the staircase and using her momentum ran around the wall onto the wall of the staircase before flipping over the guards. Using her throwing knife she stabbed the guard on the right in the temple and continuing her flip she ended up behind the other guard and drove her blade into the base of his skull where the spine connects. She caught the guard she stabbed in the skull while one of the others caught the first guard before he could hit the ground.


    Silent and skilful are the watchwords of ''steel lotus'' and due to the location she stabbed the second guard while leaving her blade in the temple of the first meant there was little to no blood. They carried the guards back upstairs and hid them in a nearby room, hiding them within a closet. While they weren''t expecting anyone to come up it was better to ere on the side of caution.


    Returning to the staircase with caution Faye did the same again and checked to make sure it was clear. This time it was fin so she gave a signal and they ranged out. The first floor followed a similar design to the floor above but in the centre was a large bathing area with one entrance and no windows facing inwards.


    Based on what Lilith had told them the entrance to the guard room was on the opposite side of the building to the entrance of the bathing area, probably to keep the guards from being tempted. Again the squad was split into 2 fire teams heading in opposite directions.


    Faye''s team moved down the halls and occasionally came across some guards doing their rounds. These guards were members of the Miles family and some also had slaves/wives in the compound so knowing they were aware of what was happening and were also active participants Faye and the girls had no qualms in killing them. As they were now ranging out they no longer bothered hiding the bodies and instead moved with speed, checking all the side room to ensure they didn''t miss anything. It didn''t appear as though anyone was in these rooms so they were able to proceed to where the doors were located.


    Being cautious Faye first looked for a crack or opening she could look through, on the hinge side of the left hand door a knot seemed to have fallen out which allowed Faye to look in. There were a large number of men sitting around tables either drinking or playing cards, this was the guard room. Faye took two innocent looking triangular pieces of metal from her pack.


    Now you may think these were grenades or some flash magical trinket but sorry no they are merely strong wedges which Faye placed just below the hinges to hold up the guards. If they thought something was wrong with the hinges they would take their time rather than just but it open and with that many trained warriors they would struggle to battle them just based on their numbers.


    With that they moved on to clear the remainder of the hall and met up with the other 2 members of the team while the last was waiting at the entrance to the bathing area. They rushed to meet up with their last member so they could complete this mission.


    Entering the bathing area they were greeted by screams and panic as the women all moved away to the far end of the room. It appeared they had timed this well as the women were all dressed or nearly dressed it seems they had just finished and were getting ready for bed.


    Faye stepped forward and was greeted by a dignified woman who was standing ahead of the others apparently in an attempt to protect them. This woman had long black hair and deep green eyes; the aura of nobility that she projected was there regardless of her circumstances and it was obvious that she led these women.


    "Who are you and what are you doing here?" She asked while trying to understand who these people were.


    "My lord has an agreement to complete so you need to come with us to safety." Faye responded while she looked directly at the woman. For her part the woman could feel that Faye didn''t mean her any harm but she knew that if she wanted to they would all be dead regardless of what they planned.


    *Boom* A shocking sound was head as they were staring each other down followed by a jangling sound. Hearing this Faye''s team all moved away from the doors placing themselves between them and the women.


    The guards had arrived, entering the room they spread out 10 men wide and three deep with a few loose guards standing behind due to their numbers already having taken a hit. The guards were all wearing studded armour of brown and black material and carried the usual large swords. The women huddled down when they saw the guards enter as they had already been cowed and feared men in general but these men in particular.


    While they weren''t permitted to injure the women who weren''t theirs unless they tried to escape, they could and did use the slave seals to cause them pain and took a perverse enjoyment from the torment they caused. Even the green eyed woman moved away and huddled down with the other women to avoid standing out.


    "Ho ho what have we got here a few little sluts delivering themselves to me? I must thank you it''ll save me finding some entertainment." The one who spoke was a man dead centre of the guard''s formation and he had some red markings on his armour showing his status as a captain.


    Faye wasn''t paying attention to him, instead she was looking at the steam from the baths and it was moving and flowing in a strange way. The steam began to move and coalesce at the door behind the guards. Quickly it took a human like shape as one of the guards noticed the steam and looked over his shoulder to see this ''mist man'' but before he could do anything the figure raised a hand in a strange pose before Faye shouted.


    "DOWN!"

 101 Chapter 101 I told you the boom was coming

    "DOWN!"


    Faye and the rest of her team crouched down at her shout. The ''mist man'' who was standing in front of them waved his hand and suddenly there was a *whoomp* sound and all the guards except the captain were blaster sideways. If they were able to see what had happened they would have seen a line of mana shoot between their lines before expanding outwards blasting them out of the way.


    The guards hit the walls at speed and they made no sound as they slid down to the ground. It was unknown as to whether they are alive or dead and to be honest no one really cared about these dirt bags. The captain looked back and seeing the ''mist man'' and the fact that all his men were already out of commission made him terribly fearful. Drawing on the godly power of arrogance he turned to the ''mist man'' and shouted at him.


    "WHO DO YOU THINK YOU ARE? IF YOU LEAVE NOW I WON''T PURSUE YOU."


    The ''mist man'' only looked at him strangely before disappearing and appearing directly in front of him in his true form of dark armour and punched him in the stomach dropping the captain like a sack of spuds. The ''mist man'' was obviously Kyle; he had been using a special form he had discovered during his experiments which let him take a spectral form. It had its advantages and disadvantages but for intelligence gathering it was perfect.


    So while Faye and her team were securing the hostages/prisoners Kyle had entered the guard room and found out about these men. They were to a man beyond redemption and just hearing their conversations made Kyle feel unclean and somehow tarnished hence why he felt no guilt or remorse about probably killing them.


    The captain was on his knees trying to gather his breath as that strike was beyond anything he felt before and there was a good chance he had damaged something inside. With his head down he could see a pair of feet moving around him heading towards the women at the other wall.


    As Kyle approached Faye''s team were happy to see him and shocked at his power. This attack was perfectly timed and executed. If the guards were prepared they could have combated this technique which used no elemental properties which may have been detected and instead this was akin to a mana landmine. Also the reason Faye had ducked was due to their training, the hand signal Kyle had given was to indicate he was going to use an area of affect skill and the standing order for when an ally was going to use this kind of skill was to either get to cover or to get down.


    "Well done and to you ladies back there this scum is yours do to him as you will but we need to move in five minutes." Kyle first spoke to Faye and her team before directing the second part of his statement to the women in the back.


    Kyle had heard the men bragging and he knew some of these women were their property and if what the men said was true these women must have either an all consuming hatred or are too scared to do anything.


    The green eyed lady was the first to respond; she stood up and approached Kyle. She was surprised as when she was near him she found she was actually taller than her saviour. Kyle was still taller than his peers but he was still only 5 foot 2 inches tall, but due to his entrance and the aura she felt from him she had believed he was taller.


    "Can I borrow a blade?" She asked, Kyle looked to one of the team and nodded so she unsheathed her tanto blade and passed it hilt first to the green eyed woman.


    The woman looked at the blade curiously before she took it and walked to the captain. As she approached he looked up and on seeing who it was he smirked at her which made her shudder but she carried on moving towards him.


    "Oh the slut has decided to step up, will we have to give you another session in the training room?"


    Hearing the captain taunting her with the past she began crying and suddenly all decorum and dignity fled from her and she could only launch herself blade first at the man. Kyle realised what the man was doing when he spoke and before the blade made contact with the captain Kyle had released a mass of seals one each for the prisoners. The captain was trying to get the green eyed woman to attack him and he must have been one of the exemptions on their slave seals which meant if one of them killed him they would in turn die in perhaps the most painful way possible.


    The green eyed woman didn''t think of anything beyond her rage and once the blade had entered the man and she had knocked him down she pulled it free and began stabbing him repeatedly while chanting.


    "Never again, you''ll never touch us ever again."


    Kyle left her to her rage for a minute until she ran out of steam and the captain looked as if he had gone through a meat grinder. Everyone in the room was quiet but a few of the women were also crying quietly as they saw one of the main sources of their pain and fear being destroyed by one of their sisters and unlike what they expected she was still fine.


    Kyle stepped over to the green eyed woman but stayed 2 meters clear of her and spoke in a calm voice.


    "Are you okay ma''am? If you can move we need to leave before the other guards realise something is amiss, regardless of how strong we appear if the entire estate comes after us they will overpower us by numbers."


    The green eyed woman was staring at the captain but as Kyle was speaking some life and clarity returned to her eyes. She looked at her hand which held the bloodied blade, she was fully expecting to die but it seemed that she wouldn''t have that reprieve. Turning her head to Kyle she had a strange sensation, it felt like life and colour was rushing back to her world and he was the source. Gradually she calmed down and was able to understand what Kyle was saying. Placing the blade down so his guards understood she didn''t mean him any harm she stepped closer to him and spoke.


    "Good evening sir, forgive my unsightly visage. It would be most pleasant if we can exit this building forthwith, also where are my manners I haven''t introduced myself yet I''m Rose Miles wife of the Miles family head and also his prisoner."


    Everyone was amazed by this woman''s ability to recover; she had returned from the broken woman to this prim and proper lady the only scary part was the blood dripping from the hand which held the blade. Kyle nodded impressed with her resilience before he directed his orders to the others.


    "You 2 go and get the women who you secured and grab them suitable footwear, I want you at the main doors in 3 minutes. Everyone else grab shoes which are easy to move in, we are going to be heading out and we''ll need to move fast. Faye you''re with me."


    With his commands issued Faye''s team began hustling everyone along while Faye and Kyle moved through the halls to the guard room. Kyle may have been looking for evidence or something like that but he had all the evidence he needed from ''shadow hand'' and ''steel lotus'' instead he was aiming for the mana crystal. He was going to rig it and he couldn''t be disturbed so he brought Faye along to watch over him.


    Moving into the guard room Kyle found the stairs heading down to where the mana crystal was located. This crystal was much smaller than the ones he had in the bastions due to them continuing to grow to a proper size while this one wasn''t able to take in any more mana and could only convert the mana in the air into a useable form.


    Kyle used this as the means to rig it and he altered the control ring so it drew in a greater amount of mana than usual and directly pumped this into the arrays within the building. As more mana was flowing into them they began to become visible to the naked eye before beginning to glow. Kyle and Faye rushed back to the entrance and saw everyone was already there.


    With everything in place Kyle took point and quietly opened the door. There were no guards present at the entrance but looking to the right at about 100m away was a figure slumped against the wall. This was one of the patrolling guards who must have been killed by the rest of the team outside. Kyle wasn''t worried about the women finding out about his forces now as he had already placed a secret seal over everyone when he released Rose from her slave seal. So he made a signal with his hand before rushing to the tree line followed by everyone else.


    As they reached the trees figures began to materialise around them scaring the women but the new arrivals just surrounded the women and ran with them. These were the other members of the team who received Kyle''s signal to regroup. As they were moving Rose got close to Kyle and spoke to him again.


    "Thank you for helping us again and you have saved my daughter from anymore of this but please I have to know why and what will happen to us now?"


    When she mentioned her daughter she indicated Lilith who was jogging with them as they moved between the trees to an unknown destination. Kyle looked quickly at Lilith then back to Rose before he whispered something to her which made her eyes go wide.


    "Really why did he do that?"


    Kyle merely shrugged his shoulders, it was at this moment that there was a sudden gust of wind blowing directly against them which was followed by a *BOOOOOOM*. Kyle quickly looked back and could see a massive detonation going on behind him and smirking could only say.


    "Who says cool guys don''t look at explosions."

 102 Chapter 102 Keeping up with the cu....turds

    "Who says cool guys don''t look at explosions."


    With that Kyle turned away and led the group through the forested area towards his nearest bastion. As they walked a living shadow covered them, it had no fixed form which the human eye could observe and gradually it merged into the shadows of the trees and the head of the Miles family never saw or hurt his wife and daughter again.


    *****


    A few hours after the explosion had destroyed the compound the current head of the Miles family was in a meeting hall with the upper echelon of his family. These elders were all sitting in high backed chairs ranged around a semi circular table facing the head that was sat on a throne like chair on a raised dais forcing those who were sat at the table to look up towards him. It was a simple power play but the head felt this was a good way to reinforce his command and authority over these men.


    "What are the reports do we know what caused the explosion?"


    "Currently it appears to be a mana overload in the arrays."


    One of the elders responded to the head while he was glaring at him, he also had a woman in the compound and he was blaming the head for letting this situation from occurring. He also had malicious intent when he was considering if there was any way he could use this event to his advantage but currently the head had too much power for him to directly confront so he would have to wait.


    "Well what caused it then?"


    The family head asked with anger evident in his voice, he had just lost 2 of his most enjoyable slaves and now he had to deal with these elders who he knew held no loyalty to him and would stab him in the back if it meant they would gain some form of advantage. While the Miles family may appear solid on the surface in the background they were raised to be vicious scum, this meant they were more devious but it also engendered a lack of loyalty between them.


    "It seems to be from the mana crystal the control ring pumped too much mana into the system overloading it."


    Another elder responded, this one schooled his expressions more than the first but the head still wouldn''t trust him given the animosity within the family at the moment.


    "Was this an accident or was this intended?"


    "Unknown but it is most likely an attack based on the timing and that there was no previous problems."


    The second elder responded as he had been amongst those who had actually attended the scene. Accidents within arrays do happen but it is almost always within the arrays themselves rather than from the crystal as these are produced to precise standards and if there was a problem it would be apparent almost straight away.


    "Okay so assuming this was an attack do we have any suspects?"


    The head was thinking who could have led this assault but for every suspect he came up with there was a reason why it shouldn''t or couldn''t be them.


    "Currently we are looking at a few people, the top of the list is the Powell and Black families as they would have the most to gain but we''ve seen no military movement from either and as far as we are aware they don''t have access to the forces necessary to attack in this manner. Next is the Tor family, as merchants they may have access to the necessary resources to launch a campaign but the question is what would they gain as we even trade with them ourselves. Then we have the imperial overseer but he is the least likely for obvious reasons. Then we have the gangs and while the group calling themselves ''shadow hand'' have been active they''ve only gone against other street gangs. So currently our best guess is that a family from outside the city has got wind of our increase in forces with the gangs and merc bands and wants to cause a street war to weaken us."


    Responded another elder who had access to the families intelligence and had been compiling a list of possible culprits but he was at a loss as to who was most likely to have led the attack.


    "Hum I think we are missing something but I can''t put my finger on it, keep looking into it I want to know who did this and more importantly why. Oh before I forget were there any survivors?"


    "No we found a couple more bodies clear of the blast area but not in any reasonable condition so we can''t check how they died. We haven''t found any remains from with the explosion."


    "Well it doesn''t matter we can always find more but I want this kept quiet if people find out what happened they may think we are a soft target. We''ll spread the word that an array master was renewing some of the arrays and triggered the feedback and we''ll lay the blame firmly on the array guild. Does anyone have anything else they want to add?"


    They all shook their heads and so the head dismissed the meeting. Walking out of the hall the head was greeted by two young men. The first looked to be in his mid twenties and while he wasn''t bad looking had an arrogant look to his face which made you just want to run up and punch him solidly on the nose, this was the heads eldest son and heir apparent Raith Miles. He had a bad reputation within the city as he was known to grab young girls and boys from the commoner families within their territory and some never returned, but as they were commoners and the imperial overseer was on their side nothing was done.


    The second young man appeared to be around 15-16 and was the youngest son of the family head called Willem Miles, if Kyle saw him he would recognise him immediately as he was the one who was causing problems in Bruno''s family store before Kyle had intervened and in the last few years they had some other run ins so it was known that there was some bad blood between the families now.


    "Greetings father" Raith was the first to greet the head while Willem merely nodded to him.


    The head was a little perplexed with Willem recently as he seemed distant with him but he was aware that his elder brother was scheming against him to ensure his place and he had done nothing to curb this so it was to be expected. For his part Willem was concentrating on the younger members speaking with them and making connections so both were already playing the game which would determine who would be the next leader.


    "Boys follow me, I take it both of you are aware of what happened earlier. I am going to take some maids for myself until I can find a new woman, Raith I know you are always up for more women to enjoy but I think it''s time for Willem to get a taste as well hahahah."


    The head wanted to improve his relationship with his younger son and as his father did with him when he was Willem''s age he thought the best way was to find him a suitable vessel for his seed.


    Raith looked excited as he always enjoyed breaking new women and he was itching to find a new one. Willem just looked at them but before he looked away a flash of disdain appeared in his eye which was noticed by the family head.


    "Oh Willem don''t you want to become a man, you can''t stay a child forever, it''s time you stopped your whining and grew a pair."


    The head started mocking his younger son in the hopes that in his anger he would agree to finding a woman to abuse, his elder brother picked up on this and ran with it.


    "Ah does little Willie want his mommy? Well if you look around the grounds you may find some bits of her hahaha."


    Hearing his elder son the head also began grinning while Willem just turned and walked away ignoring them both and treating them as if they were strangers.


    *****


    While the night was still dark Kyle and his group silently made their way through the forest and as they approached their destination the women from the compound gradually became more and more nervous.


    They were approaching the old ruins which had a bad reputation, no one went there but in recent years it was said that shadowy figures had been seen moving amongst them like spirits. Some people thought these were evil ghost who would swallow your soul but others believed they were evil cultivators who used the aura of the area and blood sacrifices to strengthen themselves.


    Unknown to them this feeling of dread people felt from the ruins was caused by some of the arrays Kyle had placed to make people keep away but it had caused certain misunderstandings and rumours to surface but this only helped to secure the bastions.


    Gradually the women slowed down as their fear seeped into their bones making them want to be anywhere else but here. Kyle on realising what was happening couldn''t help but think he was an idiot before he used the shadow which was still covering them as a shield to block the effects of the arrays. Once they are past a certain point the arrays won''t affect them so it was a simple fix.


    Feeling the fear leaving them and seeing Kyle continuing on the women followed behind while looking around. As they passed a particularly large boulder their view seemed to melt away and before them stood a huge and proud building blazing with light. This was one of the repaired bastions Kyle was now in control of.


    Walking up to the door Kyle opened it and let the women enter before he followed them in. The women were huddled up at the entrance as they looked around with wide eyes. Everywhere there was light and the building was surprisingly warm inside. Unlike Kyle''s bastion this one didn''t have much in the way of carpets and other fixtures as this was rebuilt from the ground up and they hadn''t brought in much in the way of comforts to ensure its security.


    "Welcome back."

 103 Chapter 103 Fanning the flames

    "Welcome back."


    With a warm greeting Nettie met them at the entrance. Seeing Kyle she gave him her trademark grandmotherly smile. It did look a little strange now that she looked to be in her late 30''s but the warmth and care was undeniable.


    "Nettie it''s good to see you but what are you doing here?"


    This was a secret bastion and even though his people were aware and had access to them they wouldn''t go to them for no reason. The fact Nettie was here was an anomaly and after a mission like he had just ran Kyle didn''t like anything being out of place. Nettie apparently understood Kyle''s position and explained what was going on.


    "One of Faye''s girls came by to find me, she told me what was happening and also what you suspect these women may have gone through and that they may need some support and even though Faye''s heart is in the right place she isn''t a big talker so they thought I might be a better person to help."


    Kyle looked at Faye who was a little red in the ears but she nodded never the less.


    "It was probably my second in command, I let her know about the mission before we commenced and she probably felt this would be for the best."


    Kyle also thought about this and realised that even though he had planned and executed the mission he had only thought about their physical protection but as he knew from news stories about kidnappings and abuse it may take a long time for these women to recover even a sliver of their past selves.


    "Thank you Nettie I hadn''t thought fully of the aftermath. I think it would be best if you run this we''ll call it a refuge for now. I would also like to allow certain younger men around like Theo, Chad, Bruno and myself so that the ladies can get used to being around men who won''t hurt them."


    "Yes I think that is a good idea Kyle also don''t worry too much about not thinking about these kinds of things as we all know you''ve got a lot on your plate right now."


    Kyle gave Nettie a little bow with amusement on his face while they were being watched by the group of women. Hearing the conversation between Kyle and Nettie they realised these strange people were truly here to help them and with that understanding more than a few fell to the ground and began crying. The relief and freedom that was now in their hands was both shocking and a little scary.


    Kyle looked around and started to panic a bit as even with his combat knowledge from this life and his decades in his past life he still didn''t know how to deal with crying women. Drunken women are easy to handle the same with angry women but crying is blackmail. Luckily super Nettie was already on site and she quickly moved amongst them calming them down and even getting a little laugh here and there. Few dodged a bullet right there Kyle thought, once everything had calmed down he took the women to this bastions kitchen as after all this they would probably be hungry or at the very least thirsty.


    Once everyone was fed and watered Kyle decided it would be best to explain the seal that had replaced their previous slave seals. Kyle always believed in openness with his people and unless there was a specific reason not to explain he would always be upfront with information.


    "Okay ladies could I have your attention. I''ll need to explain the current situation; this includes your situation, the city and the empire in general. First off is about the slave seals that were placed on you previously, these have been replaced with a new seal of my own devising we call this the ''secret seal''. The function of this seal is to prevent you from divulging our secrets unknowingly or intentionally. This will not control your actions and cannot be used to cause pain or death in any way. You can also use this seal to detect others with the same seal try to use it now and you''ll understand."


    The women not understanding how to use the seal as Kyle said tried to feel and focus on it, amazingly they could feel the seal easily it was like a gentle warmth coming from their very core and once they were able to sense it they could feel the same warmth from the others around them and also from Nettie and the members of ''steel lotus'' but from Kyle they could feel the same energy but much, much stronger one of the women spoke up with slight confusion.


    "Do you also have a seal in you young man?"


    Kyle was happy that the lady had asked a question as this gave him hope that they could come through this together. This was also an effect of the seal albeit an unexpected one, due to the seals all containing some of his soul energy anyone with one could sense others like them but it also established a form of communal network. It wasn''t at the level of telepathy or something like that but it did create an emotional buffer of sorts which allowed people to push further and recover quicker from emotional turmoil. It was like having your best friend always having your back even if they aren''t anywhere near you.


    "No I don''t have the seal but as I am the source it carries some of my energy."


    Kyle put it like this as this was the simplest explanation and he didn''t want to info dump on them about souls and their relative strengths.


    "Okay now once the problems in the city are sorted you can choose to follow your own life and make your own choices, at that point I''ll be in the open so I''ll remove the ''secret seals'' and we''ll support you in whatever you choose. If you wish to ally with us at that time we''ll give you the strength to be one of us but the seal would have to stay in place."


    The women were looking between each other trying to see how the others were leaning but were snapped from their thoughts as Kyle continued.


    "You don''t have to rush; you are welcome here as long as you choose to stay. Speak to Nettie and the other''s who will be helping out and decide what you want for yourselves. Now onto the situation in the city we are expecting street wars to break out at any time but my instinct is saying to me it will be at the harvest festival. If you have any information even anything in passing please let us know as it may help us in the upcoming battles."


    Kyle let them digest this for a moment, the fact he was telling them this made them think if they had heard anything about this from their slavers during their incarceration. A few of them had a couple of names and ideas about who was also involved and decided to tell Nettie about it later. They had unknowingly begun to look at Nettie like a motherly figure given her overall aura, the only one who spoke up was Lilith as she had heard something from her father while he had been having his fun with her recently.


    "Excuse me I may have heard something from my father. When he was beating me the last time he kept shouting out about ''sect bastards'', the only other time I heard him shout like that was when he was cursing a cult of evil cultivators who were operating in his territory but I think this time he was cursing because he was involved in some kind of deal with them. I''m sorry I wasn''t really paying attention at the time."


    Lilith finished a little limply as she realised that she had spoken up and without knowing all the details she may be punished. Kyle merely smiled at her warmly surprising her.


    "Thank you Lilith, you don''t need to worry nobody is going to hurt you here and the information you have just given me confirms something I already suspected."


    In this world evil cultivators were those who joined secret cults who practiced various atrocities to gain power but this was all bull. Kyle and his people had taken down a cult or two and found that the reason these cults had higher than average strength was due to the techniques they trained in. These techniques were brutal and damaging but they could also allow for great strength, by pushing separate streams of mana to impact each other at certain points in the body would strengthen them far beyond the norm as their bodies recovered.


    The downside of doing this and the reason Kyle never did this was that quite often these techniques would cause brain damage and with the mana in their bodies trying to repair or evolve those damaged parts it would gradually make them insane. As the man once said ''you should never cross the streams''.


    For the atrocities they committed Kyle believed these were merely the perversions of the original creators of these sects. He also believed all these sects had a single source as the damage these techniques caused seemed to be the same in the sects they had already taken down but this may also have been due to them being in the same city just with differing doctrines.


    Now Kyle knew that the Miles family had contact with these cults he would be able to prepare for them. Their members would attack without thought for themselves but if his people could recognise them they would lose their shock value and could be taken out with ease.


    "Now onto the final point, the empire is entering a dire state. The northern territories are going to be cut off in the next couple of years and I intend to be ready. This refuge is a powerful fortress so you will be safe here but we also have other means to protect ourselves. Forgive me but I won''t give out to much in the way of detail but just know you will be protected regardless of what you choose to do."


    Rose had been listening to Kyle was the first to realise what would happen when the empire was cut off. Without their oversight each city would try to dominate the rest and is the imperial army was off the leash it could mean chaos and war everywhere until the beasts took them.


    "So this is going to be a new war, but this time it will be everyone against everyone."


    "You should know that in all the history of man "War never changes"".

 104 Chapter 104 Return Trip

    "You should know that in all the history of man "War never changes"."


    They all paused and thought about this philosophical statement. It was true that while the means of war may change its reasons and nature is immutable and unchanging regardless of which era wars were fought man would find new and inventive ways to destroy its self.


    "I may be wrong but I''m sure I''ve heard that somewhere before." Faye said while she was trying to remember where she had heard that quote before.


    "Don''t ruin it; anyway I''ll let you settle in. Nettie if you need me just get one of ''steel lotus'' to come and get me. Faye are you going to stay or do you want to return with me?"


    Kyle asked as he thought Faye may want to see this mission through for a little longer but he wanted to get back and grab a bit of sleep before he returned to his training.


    "I''ll stay here for a little bit before I go over and see my sister if that''s okay.


    "No problem I''ll see you in the morning goodnight."


    Saying his farewell Kyle left, seeing him leaving a few of the women were conflicted as he was their saviour but he was also a man and they knew they should hate him but couldn''t find that anger within them. Nettie looked at them and decided it would be best if they could have a good night''s sleep and talk in the morning.


    "Okay ladies I''m sure you''re feeling tired so let''s get you to your rooms and get a good night''s sleep."


    At Nettie''s words their fatigue both mental and physical caught up with them and they agreed it would be best to get some sleep and look at things in the morning with fresh eyes. All the women were situated on the first floor on the south side. When everyone had been assigned their rooms Nettie and Faye spoke together for a bit while the members of ''steel lotus'' started their patrols as this bastion was now completely their responsibility.


    Back to Kyle, he was moving through the quiet city while maintaining awareness around himself. He was moving through the shadows but he was a firm believer in being cautious even if some of his actions belied this intent.


    While he was in the shadows he saw many things from a loving couple walking home to a mugging currently happening in a dark alley. Kyle couldn''t interfere everywhere so if he saw crime he would help but he knew that change happened at the top first so he would need to improve the nobles before he did anything. In regards to the mugging Kyle merely picked up a stone and threw it at the muggers arm causing him to drop his blade.


    The mugger looked for his attacker but looking at the end of the alley he saw a living shadow moving and undulating scaring the mugger out of him so he took to his heels and ran for the hills. His victim didn''t notice anything so before he could Kyle had returned to a less obvious form and continued home.


    Moving through the Powell territory Kyle began to pay more attention as he was looking for anything strange or unnatural as he was expecting the enemy to begin trying to weaken them and the best way to do this would be to cause problems in their territory as they had done before when they had flooded it with various gangs.


    Everywhere Kyle thought there may be trouble he either saw guards being directed by Tobias or one of the A''holes and if it wasn''t them it was members of ''shadow hand''. It looked as though Tobias and One had locked down this area and weren''t going to allow any disruption, this made Kyle smile as he felt he had made a good decision first in training One and secondly in bringing Tobias into the fold.


    Reaching the estate Kyle saw a heightened guard presence with more people on the outer walls and roving patrols within. It looked like his father was also expecting trouble and was preparing for it. Kyle slipped past all of the guards and defences and finally arrived home.


    Even though he could stay awake for days now and he hadn''t really had to exert himself he was mentally tired, even if he had decided the members of the Miles family needed to be removed and he didn''t regret his actions it still took a toll on him.


    He had found that any time he felt stressed or was struggling with something a nice sleep and a warm morning shower always seemed to help so he made it a point to have a regular sleep schedule and insisted the others in the household did as well.


    Reaching his room Kyle only turned on a single lighting array while he was communicating with his mansion spirit. The spirit was childish and innocent but it would be wrong to call it stupid, so Kyle was updating it on the new arrivals at one of the bastions and that they needed to be protected in case of an attack.


    As Kyle was in communication he was gradually disarming dropping his armour and weapons followed by his clothing ending up only wearing boxer shorts before he headed to his bed and climbed in ready to get some sleep.


    "Hum the bed''s really warm."


    Kyle said before he sighed and pulled back the covers, there was Elena sleeping with drool coming out of her mouth with a happy and silly look on her face. Like this Elena looked so funny Kyle could barely contain his laughter before he widened his eyes at who else was there.


    Next to Elena was Miranda, she was wearing a full nightdress and had a small smile on her face. While Elena was sprawled out and looked anything but ladylike Miranda however looked every part the lady with her white dress and having an almost demur look while she slept.


    Not to forget the final member, Clara was also there sleeping with an arm around Miranda''s waist. Unlike Miranda who looked like an angel Clara was every bit a temptress. She was wearing a red nightdress which somehow made her extremely seductive plus she had a grin on her face which made you think she was planning something in her sleep.


    Regardless of their sleeping postures all three were very pretty and with the advantage of the daily training they had received over the last few years their bodies were more developed than others their age.


    Kyle swallowed and began to chant in his mind ''loli no touch, loli no touch''. So now the question was should he wake them up and kick them out, train all night or just accept the situation for what it was and just go to sleep. If it was just Elena it wouldn''t be a problem as he knew she didn''t really mean anything by it but Miranda and Clara had intentionally climbed in his bed to wait for his return.


    He would need to decide what he was going to do and soon but for now he was tired and wanted to sleep. Luckily this sultry and beautiful illusion was completely and utterly destroyed not by the angel and not by the demon but instead by the car wreck known as Elena. With a little grunt what followed was a loud *FAAAAAAAARRRRRTTTTT*. Elena had a satisfied look on her face after that and rolled over slightly in her sleep.


    Kyle could only pick up his shattered dreams and poetic heart after this interruption, this had dispelled the illusion however and he just climbed into bed and fell asleep within just a few moments.


    Kyle''s dreams were strange that night as he felt like he was being trapped and constricted by something, first he felt he was at the bottom of the ocean and an octopus had him before it switched to a padded cell and he was in a straight jacket before it shifted again to him being tied to a chair while there were dancing peanuts doing a chorus line in front of him.


    What is wrong with my brain Kyle was thinking as he was in a state of lucid dreaming and the feeling of constriction or restraint was something people felt in dreams fairly often but what was with the peanuts?


    Gradually morning returned to the world and Kyle began to become aware of what was around him. The reason for the feeling of constriction in his dream was easily explained as he could feel Elena had latched onto him in the night and it didn''t feel like she was planning on letting him go anytime soon.


    He also began to hear quiet voices nearby. He quickly identified them as Clara and Miranda but their conversation was confusing to him in his still sleep addled brain.


    "What should we do?" Miranda asked.


    "Um well mum said that these things happen."


    "Really mum never told me about things like this."


    "I don''t know should we try to push it down?"


    "I don''t know if we should maybe we should ask Kyle when he wakes up."


    Kyle didn''t know why but he was gradually getting a bad feeling so he slowly opened his eyes and looked around before looking to the foot of the bed.


    "Well hello."

 105 Chapter 105 The love shack

    "Well hello."


    Looking down towards the end of his bed he could see Clara and Miranda in deep conversation but when they heard his voice they slowly turned their heads towards him like they were on a pivot. Both had blushes on their cheeks and he could see their eyes flicking towards something every few seconds. They didn''t respond but Kyle looked in the same direction they were looking.


    Low and behold there he was standing in all his morning glory. He hadn''t even had a shower yet but his old chap was already set for the day ahead. He had to say that with his new body and cultivation, even only being eleven years old he was impressive. Maybe he may have developed a little bit of narcissism but hey who cares.


    "Can I help you girls?"


    Kyle asked with a little grin on his face. With his mental age he knew this was purely a physiological response and he shouldn''t feel any shame, the same couldn''t be said for the girls as at their age they were curious and had a little knowledge of the opposite sex but it isn''t like they have sex education or anything so instead they get the talk from their mothers. Boys get the talk from their fathers but the contents are seriously different and never should the knowledge imparted to one be passed to the other.


    "Um Kyle are you okay you aren''t in pain or anything are you." The sweet Miranda asked with concern seeing the state of his body.


    Clara however was gradually looking more directly at his spire and her hand began to unconsciously reach out before it was caught by Miranda.


    "You shouldn''t touch it, you might hurt him."


    "Do you know how tough he is, I doubt anything would damage him."


    Kyle jumped in here as he wanted the girls to know something.


    "Actually the genitals are amongst the most sensitive part of the human body. No man wants to be hit in the junk as the pain is almost unbelievable so unless there is a good reason try and avoid hurting Mr Happy okay?"


    Miranda and Clara nodded their heads to this and also understood why during their training any time they had to do crotch shots the boys would always shy away or defend that area above any other. Mystery solved the girls felt accomplished as they had gained new knowledge and intended to pass this onto their other female friends including Alena.


    "Okay let''s get up, you girls take a shower first and get dressed and I''ll get in after you''re done."


    "Okay Kyle." Clara said before trying to wake up Elena.


    Elena had Kyle in a death grip and quickly Miranda tried to help break her grasp on Kyle. Some people say that when girls grasp onto a boy it is like a koala, but in Elena''s case it was more akin to a leach or a python which would refuse to let go unless you knew the best way to remove them.


    After years of experience Kyle knew the best way and while Clara and Miranda were trying to wake up Elena and remove this parasite from Kyle''s body he just reached round and tickled her on the side.


    With a snort Elena woke up and loosened her grip meaning all the force Clara and Miranda were exerting was suddenly free launching all the girls off the bed and causing a female heap on the floor.


    "Whatcha doing?" Elena asked with an innocent face while she was now sprawled on top of Clara and Miranda who were trying to now shift her off of them.


    Kyle rolled over on the bed and looked over the side and on seeing the sprawling mess on the floor tried to stifle his laughter but not with any real success.


    "Hey girls looking good, you''d better hurry up because if I''m late you''ll be training with me." Kyle finished this with a grin which made the girls shudder.


    The last time any of them received direct training with Kyle because they made him late was still etched in their souls like all the senior members of the house and is whispered in hushed tones like a horror story amongst the new arrivals.


    Rushing to get up all three of them ran into the bathroom to shower and change. Kyle lay back with a satisfied grin on his face while he waited for his turn. It looked like in this life he would end up as a bit of a lady''s man and truth be told he was looking forward to when they were all old enough.


    While he was waiting he was wondering what today would bring, every day something seemed to be changing at the moment and even if he was worried, he couldn''t help but be a little bit excited.


    Very quickly the girls exited fully dressed and ready for the day and with a quick goodbye they rushed out so they wouldn''t be the ones to blame for Kyle being late. Kyle had a gentle smile on his face when he saw this before he got ready and headed to the kitchen.


    When everyone saw him they gave him their morning greeting. He could see Liam and Ash sat to the side with grumpy faces while Landon was sat with them but he had a proud and happy look on his face. Kyle walked over to them and said hello.


    "Morning gents, dad how are you doing?"


    "Humph."


    "Humph."


    Kyle was surprised by the reaction of Ash and Liam as they looked away from him while making displeased sounds. Kyle didn''t know what was going on and looked to his father for help.


    "Don''t worry son these two grumpy old men are just upset because it looks like their daughters are going to be out of their hands before long."


    Kyle was surprised about this as both of them had been trying to push him and their daughters together. Kyle realised however that last night was the first night they had slept together for the whole night. Elena didn''t count as she always did what she wanted regardless and as she had no parents there wasn''t anyone to limit her except for Kyle and her brother.


    "You don''t need to worry, regardless of what happens they''ll always be your daughters and we are all already family aren''t we?"


    This seemed to placate the two fathers much to Landon''s amusement who was joined by Maria who took possession of his arm. They were soon joined by One and Lady Sparrow who had just arrived.


    It looked as though both of them had been working during the night and had come for breakfast before they did their training. One and Lady Sparrow had a look in their eyes which showed they were desperate to update Kyle on some project or plan they had hatched.


    Kyle originally thought One and Faye may get together but once Lady Sparrow had let down some of her walls she had grown close to One as they found they had similar personalities. Kyle saw these partners in crime and couldn''t help but shake his head before he let them tell him what they were obviously dying to get out.


    "Okay I can tell you''ve got something for so spit it out."


    "Well after your orders last night we spoke amongst ourselves about how we should proceed and we''ve already had a great deal of success." One began with gusto.


    "Yes we have, using some information from the street girls and ''steel lotus'' we managed to isolate a few merc bands and ''shadow hand'' took them down with no problem." Lady Sparrow continued with an uncharacteristic tempo to her words, it was obvious she was excited.


    "When we took those merc bands down we found they had information on some other bands and gang locations, like holdouts, safe houses and business locations."


    "So using this information and getting Tobias involved we managed to hit multiple areas simultaneously."


    "We currently have locked up about 500 gang members, 300 mercs and 200 slaves."


    "So we need to know what to do with the male slaves. We know you want the gangs to go to ''shadow hand'' the mercs to ''death watch'' and the female slave to ''shadow lotus'' but who should deal with the men?"


    Kyle was amused with this back and forth between One and Lady Sparrow as it showed their relationship may be even closer than he already believed. The other three men were also watching them with surprised looks. One and Lady Sparrow seemed to understand the looks they were receiving and with a quick glance at one another lowered their heads in embarrassment.


    "Oh One it looks like you''ve got a girlfriend."


    "Well done boyo should we call the chapel?"


    "Ahh young love such a beautiful thing."


    "Really are they dating?" Maria also joined in with some surprise before looking between the two seeming to be looking for some connection. Kyle decided to take pity on them, at least for the moment but he would hold onto this little information until he could really make fun of them.


    "I think the male slaves should go to ''death watch'' but like usual all slaves should be given the option to join or not. Also when using the seal stones, make sure that the slave only receive the secret seal as they haven''t done anything wrong and we''ll be coming into the light before long."


    The seal stones are a means of placing a seal on people without Kyle having to do it himself. Creating an etched seal Kyle used almost pure soul force to imbue these stones. This energy would replenish itself if not completely drained and anyone could put their mana into the stone to begin the process of placing the seal while Kyle''s op soul force would do the rest of the work.


    The limitation on these seal stones was that they could only create a seal every few minutes so they could replenish the soul force while Kyle could now comfortably produce 50 seals without strain but he would always need to be present.


    Kyle had thought of using these stones as a means to replenish his soul force or even increase it but so far he hadn''t found any material which could store his soul force in great quantity hence why these stones could only be used once before recharging.


    "Okay Kyle we''ll get that sorted; by the way Tobias said he''s sending over the first batch of external family guards to begin their training today." One spoke on behalf of his friend which seemed to remind Landon as well.


    "Yes I''ve got several teams of guards coming for training as well; this''ll include the guards of our elders." Landon referred to the elders who were loyal to him and Kyle as their elders and Kyle was more than happy to train these guards but they would also have the secret seal placed upon them.


    While they were planning and conjuring new plans a voice rang out through the whole kitchen for all to hear.


    "He had morning wood? Why didn''t you call me!?"

 106 Chapter 106 The golden touch

    "He had morning wood? Why didn''t you call me!?"


    Ah the morning cry of the moron bird otherwise known as Susan Alvarez, master of Maria Powell who is also the mother of the boy they''re talking about and who was sitting with Kyle. The same Maria who was now looking over at her master with curiosity while Miranda and Clara who had been speaking to their mothers before Susan had come in like a wrecking ball.


    Dylan otherwise known as the other idiot opened his mouth and was about to say something but luckily for him he was sat next to Mavis his girlfriend or keeper depending on whom you speak. Upon seeing Dylan opening his mouth, likely to say or do something that would get him in trouble like usual placed her hand over his mouth.


    Dylan looked at Mavis with a confused expression on his face but Mavis only shook her head seeming to say don''t. Dylan''s eyes quickly passed over everyone and saw a few watching him with smiles and anticipation as they knew that both Dylan and Susan were always good value for money.


    Dylan upon seeing these looks decided it would be better to keep his silence this one time and sat back while Mavis took her hand from his mouth and looked back to Kyle who had been watching them while grinning. Kyle didn''t care about what the girls were talking about and was actually rather enjoying their embarrassed looks.


    Maria however hadn''t taken her eyes off of Susan and it seems she had realised they were talking about her baby from the way Clara and Miranda kept looking over at them with scared and shameful eyes. Elena was also with them but like usual she was moving at her own pace and was trying to make pancakes but even this simple recipe seemed to be beyond her.


    "So how did it look? How big is he and does it have a good curve to it."


    Susan was firing embarrassing questions one after the other and wasn''t even letting the girls get a word in. She was in her flow now and would carry on unless she was stopped. Landon looked at Kyle with a sense of vengeance as he knew Kyle had set him up when he was trying to hide, but he didn''t get to see a look of embarrassment on Kyle''s face as he was proud of what he was packing.


    "Come on girls give me an idea is it this big or how about this big?"


    Susan was indicating a distance with her hands gradually increasing the distance between them. Clara and Miranda only wished they could disappear into the ground at this point, luckily Elena came to their rescue at this point but not in the way you may think.


    "From the tip to the round bulbous things it''s about this long."


    Elena indicated a distance between her hands which made Susan, Iris and Lauren along with almost all the other women in the room widen their eyes in shock. Out of his girls in the last couple of years Elena had spent the most time with Kyle and due to her lack of boundaries she had walked in on Kyle showering many times, not to mention the times she had crept into his bed when he was sleeping. Clara and Miranda seeing the distance Elena was indicating nodded along before quickly hiding their faces but their bright red ears could still be seen.


    "*Splutter* Wait you said that the distance is from the tip to two round things. For your sake I hope you''re talking about his ass cheeks."


    Kyle broke down at this and started bawling with laughter, the other men in the room looked at him with respect and awe. Suddenly there was a gust of wind and Maria appeared next to Susan and placed her hand on her master''s shoulder.


    Susan was an entire stage higher than Maria in cultivation but when she turned and looked up at Maria fear flowed through her. She could swear that there was a dark shadow following Maria and it seemed to be holding some type of farming implement which would only be used during the harvest.


    "Hello master would you like to share what you were talking about?"


    As Maria said this a creaking sound could be heard coming from Susan''s shoulder. Susan realized at this point she had royally messed up, you should never talk about stuff like this when someone''s mother is in the room it just isn''t cricket. Trying to find a way out of this new hole she dug for herself Susan latched onto something she noticed.


    "Maria excellent to see you here, from the speed of that movement it looks like you''ve improved your wind magic."


    As part of their training everyone specialised in at least one form of magic as everyone in the household could now practice it with various levels of skill. Maria had focused on the wind branch of magic, as they were focused on a single form they would eventually be able to master it and if Kyle was right they would be considerably stronger than the mages the empire held in reserve.


    The usual limitations mages suffered, such as a weaker constitution were not present within Kyle''s people as they trained in all of the paths so a warrior could also throw fire from a distance or a mage could use a sorcerers skill like telepathy.


    Maria had used her wind magic for hi speed and although she couldn''t yet fly she could float rather well meaning she could now move ridiculously fast if she wanted. Susan focused on lightning/energy magic as its destructiveness and versatility appealed to her.


    "Yes master my magic control has improved immensely with Kyle''s guidance, speaking of Kyle you were saying something I believe. DON''T....LET....ME....INTERRUPT....YOU."


    Maria said this with fire in her eyes and due to her use of wind magic her hair was now streaming out behind her as if it was in a gale. Kyle who was watching this could only compare his mother''s current appearance to a picture he had seen of a banshee. He was only thankful he wasn''t on the receiving end of his mother''s anger.


    Landon loved this as it was usually him being bullied by Susan and seeing her being pushed around by his wife gave him a great feeling of schadenfreude.


    "Um well Maria we were just saying that well anyone who marries Kyle will be a very lucky woman, yeah that''s it isn''t that right girls?"


    Iris and Lauren just pretended they couldn''t hear anything leaving Susan out to dry while Clara and Miranda were now terrified of Maria''s anger. On seeing the girls looks Maria smiled at them while maintaining her grip on Susan''s shoulder preventing her from running away.


    "Its okay girls I know Kyle cares about you, I''m just dealing with a pervert so you can carry on with what you were doing."


    With that Maria activated her magic again and dragged Susan with her leaving everyone with awkward looks for a moment before Kyle called out.


    "Okay let''s get some food; we''ve got a lot of training to do."


    With that a harmonious breakfast ensued while from the training grounds they could hear the occasional mournful wail or loud thump. Those who had received Kyle''s special training now understood where he got his sadistic streak from. Kyle''s girls kept their heads down, well all except Elena who was looking around proudly while some of the younger members were trying to get the adults to explain what they had been talking about.


    Before they had finished Kyle realised they had visitors at the door. It was the team from the harvest tournament plus the Black siblings but the biggest surprise was that their parents were with them. Kyle tapped Landon on the shoulder and whispered to him about Leonard and his wife being at the entrance so they both headed out to receive them.


    Opening the door Kyle greeted his tournament team and shook Archie''s hand and gave Ruby a quick hug before she disappeared into the house to find Theo and Chad.


    "Good morning Leonard and Gemma it''s been a while since I''ve seen you both."


    Kyle greeted them as this was his house and as the host it was proper that he would greet them rather than his father.


    "Hi my boy you''re looking more like your father every day. Landon you''ve got a good one here isn''t that right Gem?"


    "Yes dear but can we get to the point." Gemma, Leonard''s wife decided to push on with the reason as to why they were here as she knew that if Leonard got going no one would be able to shut him up.


    "Right I know you''ve started training my boy but he won''t say anything about it only that a seal prevents him from telling us anything. I want to know about this seal and if my daughter has had something similar placed on her."


    Kyle understood why they were here now as Ruby came by often to play with her friends and her parents were afraid that something untoward had been done to her.


    "Come with me and I''ll explain everything." Kyle asked as he led the arrivals towards the training grounds.


    As they were walking Kyle explained to Gemma about the secret seal and its uses and limitations, Leonard was chatting with Landon as they were now good friends and brothers in arms. Leonard was a good man but his problem solving abilities stopped at hit it hard and if it doesn''t work hit it harder. Gemma was the brains in the relationship so Kyle found himself explaining to her about the reason for the seal.


    As they were fast approaching the day of reckoning Kyle was now comfortable telling the Black''s about his training and his new method plus he believed they weren''t fair weather friends. Once Kyle had explained everything and also reassured Gemma that Ruby didn''t have a seal placed upon her as she was still too young to decide these things for herself Gemma was placated.


    Once Leonard heard the details of the cultivation technique Kyle had developed he became excited before stating much to his wife''s annoyance.


    "Put a seal on me I want to train as well."


    Well at least he''s honest with his desires Kyle thought to himself while Gemma could only face palm. She thought about it for a few minutes before she decided this wouldn''t be a bad thing. With the strength of the Powell family and the intel she had gathered over the last few weeks she realised they needed this ally.


    When they reached the training grounds they were greeted by the sight of Susan being caught in a mini tornado which was flipping her around like some kind of doll while Maria was laughing like a villain. Seeing Kyle with his guests Maria stopped laughing and ceased her tornado. Unluckily for Susan she was still 10 foot in the air.


    After making an impromptu landing Susan gathered herself up and without realising Kyle was there with some other people continued an impassioned speech she must have been giving from before.


    "It''s not my fault I haven''t got any for ages; you don''t know what it''s like not having someone touch you for so long."


    Susan suddenly felt a warm hand grasp her exposed forearm followed by a breathy voice sounding in her ear.


    "You''re welcome."

 107 Chapter 107 Class time

    "You''re welcome."


    Elena said with a satisfied smile on her face before she moved away like she was gliding and given the magical nature of this world it was possible.


    Susan and Maria just watched her as she moved away all anger and hostility forgotten while this fairy of comfort flitted between the crowds that were standing around watching the battle. Susan shook herself from her from her torpor and looked to Maria who had finally calmed down.


    "Maria I know she is one of your sons girls but I have to check, she is okay upstairs I mean?"


    "Yes master she is well, she sees the world differently than most people and we can''t always predict how she will act. In fact the only person who seems to have any control or influence over her is Kyle, it is a very strange state of affairs to be in if I''m honest."


    "It''s good though, you''ve got yourself an interesting daughter in law who will keep you on your toes."


    "Yes I suppose but I do worry how Kyle will deal with her if anyone hurts him or someone she''s close to."


    "What do you mean?"


    "Last year a man from one of the minor aristocratic families was in the estate for a meeting with Landon. He saw Miranda taking some documents to Kyle to read and tried to force her to.....service him. She could have easily escaped but Elena saw what was happening."


    "Oh and what happened to this ass, do I need to go and deal with him?"


    "No it''s already been handled by Elena, she beat him unconscious then dragged him to the fourth floor of the main compound and she defenestrated him."


    "Well that''s the best thing to do if a man is planning to force himself on someone."


    "Wait what no she threw him through the big window, he hit the floor and broke his neck. The family who had dispatched him apologised and since then no one has messed with the servants of our family. What did you think she did to him?"


    "Um don''t worry about it I''ll tell you when you''re older."


    Everyone was watching this skit between Maria and Susan and when they heard the story of how Elena dealt with that man they couldn''t help but smile. Elena was known to be unpredictable but she wouldn''t hurt anyone Kyle was close with but if anyone else tried to hurt them she would act in a decisive and brutal manner unconcerned with what could happen next.


    Kyle clapped his hands gathering everyone''s attention and introduced the members of the Black family to everyone. Although everyone already knew Ruby due to her regular visits only a few knew Archie as he had only begun training with them yesterday and this was the first time they met Leonard and Gemma.


    With Gemma''s permission Kyle cast the secret seal on Ruby as well so she could train with her friends as well.


    "Ruby you can train with your friends but you''ll have to hold back on your training once you reach level 5 okay?"


    Gemma was speaking to Ruby and appeared to be limiting her cultivation so she could have at least one child before she became too powerful to conceive. Kyle heard this but decided not to interfere as he wanted his mother to conceive another child before he made others aware of his fix for the fertility problem amongst cultivators.


    "It''s okay Gemma we are limiting the children''s cultivation as it is at least until they reach a reasonable age."


    Kyle put this out to her but what he didn''t say was that the minimum age to break through to the second stage was 15, this was to allow the body time to adjust to their existing powers and Kyle didn''t know what changes would occur once they broke through hence he was limiting everyone''s progress including his own.


    With everything in place Kyle and crew began training and as usual the new arrivals ended up exhausted only to be amazed by their quick recovery. They could now see the advantage in this new cultivation technique over all previous techniques they owned and trained in and once Kyle had explained that this technique would allow them to train in all three paths simultaneously they were truly thankful that they had become friends with the Powell family.


    Kyle had a purpose in training the Black family and it didn''t include anything as mundane as honour at least not truly. The Black family had shown themselves to be friends and trustworthy so Kyle planned to leave them in control of New Grange City as his representatives. The reason for this was that while studying in his library he found the locations of larger and more powerful cities further inland.


    If he could revive these cities his little empire would grow immensely powerful and they could gain the land necessary to allow the human race to expand once again but While Kyle and his family were reactivating these lost metropolises he would need people to manage his territory so here comes the Black family. Kyle was planning to do something similar in each city he took over and would install a family to manage it.


    These families needn''t be large or already in power but must have the correct mindset and they must have the support of the people. Kyle would provide the necessary combat power to allow them to take and maintain control and with the seal being placed upon them they would find themselves becoming loyal to Kyle personally. This was another effect of the seals and while this may seem like brainwashing to some Kyle felt this was the best way to create and maintain his empire at least in its formative stages.


    Once they had rested Kyle left the Daryl''s and the Black''s to Ash who would drill them and allow them to get stronger in the fastest time possible. Kyle went and grabbed Susan before heading to something he really didn''t know if he was prepared for. This was teaching children; Kyle had agreed to teach the youngsters in his household about magic and its varieties.


    Kyle took Susan with him because even though she had faults, probably too many to count she had taught people before and Kyle needed an assistant anyway. So they gathered up the kids and headed to the library as Kyle felt this was the best location to teach people about magic.


    "Okay everyone take a seat and I''ll begin telling you about magic, good everyone comfy so first tell me what you already know about magic?"


    Kyle decided it would be best if he started this by learning what the kids knew about magic and he would correct them and fill in the gaps as he went along.


    "Um we use mana to make stuff happen."


    "Yeah things go boom and slish."


    "What do you mean slish it''s like whoosh."


    The kids began yammering about magic but Kyle could tell that while they understood some of the effects such as explosions they didn''t know the first thing about the fundamentals of magic.


    "Okay calm down, I''ll start at the beginning so bear with me as you may find this boring. To start with you are correct but your information is also incomplete about using mana to make stuff happen."


    Kyle took a breath while he was thinking of how to explain this; the kids were looking at him with rapt attention waiting for him to continue.


    "We use mana to interact with what is already present by adding to or removing elements in the environment. It may make sense to list the magical branches so I can give some examples who can tell me what the elemental branches of magic are."


    "Fire"


    "Earth"


    "Lightning"


    "Light"


    "Dark"


    "Water"


    "Wind"


    The kids stopped at this point while Kyle had been holding up his fingers indicating how many elements they had counted. When they got to seven they stopped and looked at Kyle expectantly but Kyle was still waiting.


    "Anyone know what the last element is? No one okay it is life. These represent the basic branches of elemental magic. Now for example fire magic uses mana to increase the temperature within a defined area until fire takes form."


    Kyle showed this and a small flame appeared above his palm to the oohs and ahhs of his audience. He noticed Susan was also watching him like he was a sideshow.


    "This is the same for most of the others, wind is obvious in the case of water, moisture in the air is condensed allowing for the formation of water."


    Kyle demonstrated this much more slowly than would normally be done which allowed the kids to see water drops forming before joining the water ball above Kyle''s palm before he dismissed it returning the water to vapour.


    "Now lightning and life are a bit different in their case the form of mana is changed generating lightning or a form of bio energy which can be used to heal does everyone understand so far?"


    Looking around Kyle saw Chad had his hand raised to ask a question. Kyle nodded in his direction indicating he should ask his question.


    "What''s bio energy?"


    "Oh sorry think of it like fuel which lets your body heal faster."


    Chad and the others nodded to this as it explained things much more easily than if Kyle had tried to fully explain about how cells used energy to divide and due to its inherently magical nature this bio energy could even remove cellular mutations.


    Kyle also decide to gloss over the fact that the magic he was most interested in was in the earth branch, this wasn''t the most showy magic it was also the least practised but Kyle had noticed something about it which no one else had picked up on yet.


    While he was musing the kids had begun to discuss amongst themselves which type of magic they would train in once they became strong enough. Kyle decided it would be a good idea to show them the different forms of magic so they could make a better decision so he called out to Susan.


    "Susan let''s head to the experimentation room I''d like to show them the different styles."


    "Good idea, okay squirts follow this beautiful master."

 108 Chapter 108 Who said that?

    "Good idea, okay squirts follow this beautiful master."


    Susan began walking away while Kyle shook his head at what she had just said. While it''s good to have a certain amount of confidence Susan was taking this to the extreme lately. The kids began whispering amongst themselves.


    "What''s wrong with the lady?


    "Does she have a problem with her brain?


    "Why is she talking about herself in the third person?"


    "What''s third person."


    "My mum said I should stay away from her because she''s a bad influence."


    The one who said this last one was Theo, Chad''s friend. When the others heard this they understood that they shouldn''t interact with her outside of training as this may lead them to a dark path of narcissism and referring to themselves in the third person.


    Susan was only a little way ahead and could hear the innocent words of the children clearly. Because there was no malicious meaning to what they were saying Susan could only slump her shoulder and walk ahead.


    For once Kyle felt a little pity for Susan and walked forward and placed his hand on her shoulder to give her a little support and comfort. Susan on feeling the hand on her shoulder look back and saw Kyle looking at her with care and concern.


    "Are you going to be okay Susan? Sometimes words can hurt more than any weapon."


    "I''ll be okay Kyle I just regret I didn''t get to these children early enough to show them my magnificence."


    Kyle almost tripped over when he heard this; it looks like there is no helping Susan. He once spoke to his father about her and the way she acts and Landon could only come up with one thing and that she is an idiotic genius.


    Regretting his concern and heartfelt feelings Kyle lifted his hand and Susan closed her eyes expecting a pat on the head on some other comforting action. Instead she got a chop on the top of her head, like Kyle had been saying lately maybe these Japanese protagonists are onto something.


    "What''d you do that for?"


    Susan asked while pretending it hurt, but at her level there was very little chance Kyle could actually hurt her without using his full strength.


    "It was for making me concerned for no reason. Anyway we''re here so let''s begin the demonstrations you can start with lightning."


    The experimentation room they were in was specially configured for using spells of great power without damaging the surroundings. When fired a barrier would form using the mana from the crystal dissipating the attack and converting it back to mana which in turn would fuel the barrier for a little longer lowering the drain on the crystal.


    These forms of arrays aren''t used outside of the experimentation room because if people bombard the protection arrays and they absorb the mana left it could cause an overload in the arrays, after seeing the devastation that was caused when Kyle overloaded the arrays at the Miles family Kyle felt the ancients and current array masters were correct in not using these kind of arrays except in controlled circumstances.


    Kyle and the kids were standing behind the barrier curtain while Susan entered the room. The barrier curtain is the point that the barrier starts and as it is clear it was like they were watching from a control room.


    Susan began charging her mana to show off the power of her lighting. To start with she merely created a simple lightning strike which to Kyle looked like she should be asking for people to join her side while having a croaky voice.


    Next she created a ball of compressed lightning which when it reached the target created a large lightning blast. Susan was fine during this as the source of this power was from her own mana and she wouldn''t be hurt by it but friendly fire could occur hence the need for barriers and the experimentation room.


    "Okay that was good but now who amongst you can tell me what the difference between those two attacks was."


    Kyle asked as he wanted to know if the kids had noticed something unusual. Regardless of how crazy and foolish Susan may be she was still a good teacher and in that simple display she had shown something which Kyle would need to teach the kids.


    "Um one was a lightning strike like what comes from the sky but the other one was a ball."


    One of the kids responded with an unsure tone as he couldn''t understand what Kyle was asking.


    "Yes now I know you won''t understand what I''m asking as it isn''t widely known but I''ll try my best to explain. The first attack was a simple attack using the lightning element, while destructive this attack lacks any form of control. The second attack was a controlled attack and won''t detonate until it reaches the target. Currently all mages use the first form of attack, only people that we''ve trained here can use the second attack. Can anyone guess why no one else can use this form of attack?"


    All the kids were looking at each other as they couldn''t think of anything, suddenly a hand was raised and the owner was jumping up and down trying to get Kyle''s attention.


    "Susan calm down and 5 points from house Alvarez."


    "Ah no fun but I know the answer."


    "Yes because I told you now calm down and I''ll tell the trainees."


    Kyle turned his attention back to the kids and explained how they had created a new form of mage.


    "You all know we are training in all three paths simultaneously, well once you reach the fifth level you will awaken a sorcerer ability which will allow you to control at least one elemental magic as you wish. These abilities will let you manipulate the associated element as you please so you can form flaming spears, or knives of darkness even wings of light are possible. Now why can we use the second form of magic and no one else can?"


    "Because no one else is able to train in both the sorcerer and mage paths like we can."


    Chad was the one who jumped in at this point, Kyle had personally trained him and Theo along with some others who showed promise so they had a better foundation than the others.


    "Excuse me sir but what are the sorcerer abilities called?"


    One of the other children asked as they had never heard of something like this and was curious as to what could be done with these skills.


    "Okay starting with fire we have pyrokinesis, water is aqua kinesis, earth is terra kinesis, wind is aero kinesis, lightning is electro kinesis, light is photo kinesis, dark is shadow kinesis and lastly life is bio kinesis."


    "Um but what happens if we get an ability for one type but we want to train in another."


    Another kid asked as they were afraid they would get something trash and they wanted something cool.


    "That''s why we aren''t training as mages until you reach the fifth level and we know what the ability you awaken is so you can train to your strengths, you can train in other magic branches but you wouldn''t get the same results as you would in training your main type. Also I know why you asked that question but you should remember that none of the magic branches are useless you just need to find the correct way to use it. Now anymore questions?"


    "Yes me, me I''ve seen people using magic like ice and I know you''ve used some form of space hopping what branch do they belong to?"


    Kyle sighed as this was asked by Susan and he was hoping to explain this later as they couldn''t use it in the near future but she had forced his hand so he had no choice but to ruin the surprise.


    "Well I suppose you all want to know this as well? So ice mage is actually a composite magic using water as the base so that is the primary control magic with fire being used to control the temperature forming ice. It''s pretty simple but if used correctly composite magic can result in greater effects than if they are used alone do you all understand so far."


    The kids and Susan all nodded their heads at his explanation so far which made Kyle want to bonk Susan on the head again. She could sense that something dangerous was coming her way and put her hand on top of her head.


    "Now I won''t explain further into composite magic''s as I''m still experimenting with it. Now in regards to hopping this is actually from a higher form of magic. This is known as spatial magic; currently no one is actively training in this as we need everyone including me to have a complete understanding of the basic elemental magic''s."


    "Sorry but you said the basics are called elemental magic, does these higher types have a name?"


    This question was asked by one of the kids who looked rather intelligent and Kyle made a note to keep an eye on them. Currently Kyle had three forces which specialised in various forms of physical combat with magic as a support. Kyle was thinking of organising another force which would focus on magic first with physical combat as a support.


    "Yes the magical branches within this higher form are called cosmic magic''s. As I said no one is training in these yet as I''m still learning myself and if I''m right about the power of these magic''s we would need to tread carefully in using them."


    "Really why is that?"


    "Susan let the trainees ask questions first. Anyway the power of these latter magic''s is stronger to a degree which defies logical progression so we need to study and understand before we use. I''m sure none of you would want to risk your friends and families just for the chance to be a little stronger."


    All the kids shook their heads at this while Susan was nodding until she caught Kyle watching her and began shaking her head in mid nod so it looked like she was trying to draw a circle with her head.


    "Sigh anyways you''ve seen some magic from Susan and I''ve explained what you need to know currently so does anyone have any other questions before we get back?"


    "Can I be a magical girl?"

 109 Chapter 109 Dirty Susan

    "Can I be a magical girl?"


    Kyle pinched the bridge of his nose when he heard this. He didn''t want to crush anyone''s dreams but he needed to let them down gently.


    "Theo I wouldn''t want to say that you can''t do something but there are certain physical constraints to what you want to be. How about being a magical boy rather than a girl."


    "Oh that''s a good idea so I''ll be a magical boy when I grow up!"


    Kyle thought that there were many inconsistencies with this statement but as long as the kid was having fun he didn''t see any problem, everyone began chatting amongst themselves before another voice was heard.


    "What about me Kyle can I be a magical girl?"


    Susan was standing proudly while posing like a body builder. So here was Kyle looking at a woman at less than 5 feet tall posing like Mr Universe.


    "No Susan you can''t, you''re too old, too unruly and to messed in the head but you can be Theo''s sidekick."


    "Hey I''m meant to be the hero here you should bow down and worship me."


    "Oh you''re a hero awesome I''ve just come up with a hero name for you it''s Miss Wasting My Time. Okay everyone just ignore her and get back to studying I''ve got a meeting I need to get to."


    "Okay thanks Kyle."


    "Yes thanks Lord Kyle."


    "Thank you."


    After everyone had said their thanks and goodbyes Kyle left Susan on the floor throwing a tantrum and headed to his next arranged meeting. Before he got more than 3 meters away Susan caught up with him. You had to say she was resilient if nothing else.


    "So where are we going next then boss?"


    "Boss? Well I''ve got a meeting with the 3 guild heads, I want to discuss the upcoming separation of the lands and get them on board with us."


    "Uh meetings but I''ll accompany you anyway; someone has to keep you out of trouble."


    "Aren''t you the one who usually causes the trouble? I haven''t forgotten the drunken turkey incident from when you were last here. I still don''t know how or more importantly why you forced a turkey to drink an entire pint of whiskey."


    "Well it seemed like a good idea at the time. Is anyone else going to come along for this meeting?"


    "Yup I''ve got mother to talk with Draken of the array masters, Randall to deal with the blacksmiths and Alena to talk with the alchemists."


    "Yeah that''s a good idea to bring someone from each of their respective professions, but are you okay with showing off Alena to the alchemists?"


    "It''ll be fine we can defend ourselves from their small numbers if necessary and if my information is correct the local representative is unhappy with the current empire. Speaking of the empire don''t you have to return soon?"


    "I haven''t told you yet have I? They found a successor who has similar future sight to me. She''s also from one of the great houses in the capital so they have placed her at a position of higher authority than me. After all I''m a country bumpkin, but that means I''m free to do as I please and only have to return for certain events. By the time they realise I''m behind the schism they won''t be able to do anything about it."


    "Oh joy, let''s get a move on I don''t want this meeting to finish too late."


    "Right you need to get back to your harem right."


    Kyle merely scoffed at this and rushed to the stables, with his new wealth Kyle had purchased a few steeds for himself and his people but he really wanted to fly his falcon but that would have to wait for now.


    When he reached the stable everyone was already there and waiting so Kyle climbed into his saddle while Susan joined Maria on her steed before they quickly rode out. The meeting would take place in the array masters guild as Kyle had the most pull in this guild and had to play to his strengths.


    As they were riding through the streets from one of the side streets a gang appeared also riding on Prism Runners.


    They were closing in on Kyle''s group and were drawing their weapons ready to strike, Kyle felt this attack was poorly planned and executed even worse. Kyle looked back at his mother and nodded.


    Currently Maria was the only known mage within his family so if she used her magic to blast away these idiot''s no one would question it. Maria was one of the few who had awakened more than one type of magical control as she could command both wind and lightning.


    Since everyone already knew she could use lightning magic she decided to go with that and once they had a certain amount of clear space she fired a sphere of compressed lightning towards their pursuers.


    The output of this was far lower than what Susan had cast as Maria didn''t want to risk collateral damage so it only had around 10,000 volts which is much lower than a taser but it would be enough to disable their steeds.


    Once the sphere was in range it exploded outwards, lightning was striking within the area of effect and was jumping around between the various riders due to the metal studs they had placed on their armour.


    While this gave them a jolt they shook it of very quickly but the same couldn''t be said for their steeds that all began rearing up. Men were thrown from the saddle and crashed to the ground groaning and cursing.


    The guards arrived on the scene quickly and on seeing who was present approached Maria who quickly explained these men were trying to attack them so she used magic to disable them. The guards looked at Maria with respect before taking the attackers away.


    In these outer lands mages were held in a certain awe by the common people, Kyle couldn''t help but smirk a little at the respect people were showering to his mother and thought ''if they think she''s powerful now just you wait''.


    Continuing on after this little tangent they eventually arrived at the guild buildings, nothing much had changed except that at the imperial overseer''s office there were many more guards visible than at previous times.


    It looked as though the overseer was calling in all of his available forces and reinforcing them with some of the mercs that had come over at the Miles family''s behest. Kyle didn''t think too much about it as he had already expected something like this with the overseer already being bought and paid for.


    They trooped through the array masters guild and finally arrived at the meeting room they had been allocated for this meeting. Kyle led the way and saw that the guild masters were already present and was seated on the opposite side of the rectangular table in the middle of the room.


    "Good afternoon gentlemen, sorry for being late but we had some issues to deal with."


    "That''s okay Kyle we were just discussing some issues ourselves." Draken the master of the array guild responded first.


    "God what a brat making me wait like this." This was Seamus the blacksmith''s guild leader, he wasn''t as large as Randall or other blacksmiths but he had a wiry strength to him along with having bright ginger hair.


    "My time is a precious commodity so speak fast." This was Martin the leader of the alchemists and also a second stage mage. Kyle hadn''t been able to get any details about his element or accurate level as he hadn''t used his abilities since he had arrived in New Grange City.


    "Very well I''m assuming that everyone has seen the increase in forces present within the city?"


    They all nodded to his question but it didn''t concern them as this was just the usual positioning of the noble families and as usual they would take no direct hand in it.


    "Good well have you also noticed the movements of the imperial army to the south and the movements of the demon beasts in the same area."


    When Kyle said this they drew a blank for a minute before Martin remembered a letter he had received from an acquaintance. It was a warning stating something was happening down south but didn''t elaborate on it further.


    Kyle saw Martin''s expression which was also noticed by Seamus and Draken so they understood something was definitely going on.


    "I heard from a friend that something strange is going on but not what exactly. What do you know?"


    Martin asked this with an edge to his voice, he had been dispatched here by the guild after he had a falling out with one of the higher ups. Due to the large separation from the better resources Martin''s strength would stagnate but he was still a mage and expected to be treated as such.


    "Hasn''t anyone ever told you to say please when asking for a favour?"


    Kyle responded with a taunt to Martin who was thoroughly incensed by this and suddenly grabbed his staff and pointed it directly at Kyle. A spike of earth appeared at the end of his staff ready to be launched at Kyle at a moment''s notice.


    Everyone else retreated from the table while Kyle just sat there with a smirk on his face. The staff that Martin was using to boost his magical output was actually something Kyle''s people had made using his blueprints.


    This staff had small accumulation arrays engraved on the shaft which would condense a mages attack allowing for faster and more powerful attacks. Now why would Kyle give out something which may strengthen an enemy, the answer is he wouldn''t without some insurance so with a little surge of mana Kyle interfered with the functions of the staff and the magical attack collapsed.


    This left Martin standing there with his staff pointed towards Kyle with nothing else happening. From behind everyone began hearing a whistling and crackling sound. Martin directed his attention to the source of this quickly and was shocked at what he saw.


    Maria was standing there with a hand outstretched with a sphere of compressed air visible above her palm, the power of this swirling sphere was what was making the whistling noise and Kyle knew that if this was released this little man would become a little puddle of blood.


    The crackling noise was coming from Susan who was standing next to Maria. She was going full Raiden at the moment with her eye''s glowing blue with lightning moving all over her body. Her palm was also outstretched but instead of a sphere there was a tiny dragon made of lightning swimming above her palm.


    "Master you''ve improved your control again." Maria said when she noticed that everyone''s attention was directed towards Susan.


    "Of course I''m a genius after all." She responded with her usual verve.


    "Yeah a real genius, how long did I have to explain about lightning before you understood?" Kyle decided to slap her down, but she was in full flow now and wasn''t going to stop.


    "Now do you feel lucky punk?"

 110 Chapter 110 Mother humper!

    "Now do you feel lucky punk?"


    As she said this Susan let her lightning dragon move away from her palm and it approached Martin while circling around in front of his face.


    Martin didn''t know what to do in this situation; he thought that by showing his strength as a mage he could force Kyle to reveal his information without having to give anything up himself.


    To his shock Kyle had 2 mages beside him who used stronger branches of magic than he did and Susan seemed to be able to use it in ways he hadn''t heard of before.


    Kyle watched this for a moment longer before he decided to play good cop. He placed his hand over Susan''s and let her lightning magic flow onto his hand. With his advantages he was able to take control over her mana and switch the control over so he could dissipate the lightning dragon which was threatening Martin.


    Susan pouted when Kyle took away her toy before she went to Maria who had already dissipated her own attack. Martin collapsed back in his seat feeling relief and shock in equal measure.


    Draken and Seamus were no less shocked than Martin as they were aware of the rules in the empire and if they were made aware of how strong Maria and Susan were there was no way they would release them to do as they pleased.


    Martin had however noticed how Kyle had taken command and also how everyone was following his lead. Martin had done his own investigation before this meeting and understood that Kyle was relatively low key compared to the young lords of other houses, even his own cousins were better known than he was.


    "So are you gentlemen ready to discuss the situation in a civilised manner or will this have to get unpleasant?"


    Kyle had returned to his own seat and had his hands clasped in front of him like he was in prayer, when he asked the question he pulled his hands slightly further apart and in one hand was a glowing and gentle golden light while in the other was an evil looking purplish mist.


    For added effect Kyle decided to show some theatrics, the golden light was just a mass of light elemental mana while the purple mist was a mass of dark magic. Both of these groups of mana had been weakened so they could be clearly seen.


    Martin was having a nervous breakdown when he saw this, with no focus and almost instantly Kyle had called up a condensed form of elemental mana from what is classed as a higher branch than his own.


    "Calm down Kyle we were already prepared to discuss what you called us in for."


    Draken decided it was time to diffuse the situation; he had spent a fair amount of time dealing with Kyle in the last few years as he believed was an up and coming grandmaster within his guild and he didn''t want him to make any missteps.


    Kyle knew Draken had been looking out for him even though he didn''t have to, in order to protect himself Kyle had ''steel lotus'' keep an eye on Draken in secret and found he had been pulling strings to prevent outsiders or others within the guild from interfering with him so he had a good impression of him.


    Kyle had also investigated the other 2 and was sure they weren''t involved with the conspiracy from before so he decided to approach them now before details of what was coming up got out.


    "Okay let''s start for real; the empire is going to cut off the northern lands because of a mass beast incursion cutting through near the Berreth Pass. We can''t stop the incursion but I have people reinforcing the towns nearby. I can''t go into details until you agree to join with me."


    Kyle laid the situation out as quickly and concisely as possible, this news shocked those present. If the empire cut them off without reinforcement it would only be a matter of time before the cities in the north began to fall.


    "Why would we join with you kid?"


    Seamus spoke up at this point, he may be brash and quick to anger but he wasn''t stupid so he knew Kyle had something up his sleeve to entice him and the others.


    "I''m going to take control of this city and eventually the whole northern territory and I want your guilds to get in on the ground level. I will offer sanctuary to all of your members. In case you are wondering I have an abundance of mages who can help in the defence along with some other secret projects which will help."


    Kyle was laying it on thick because even if they choose not to join him he didn''t fear their retaliation anymore as everything was coming to a head.


    The guild leaders were still seated and were thinking about what Kyle said. Seamus and Martin didn''t know Kyle and were struggling to decide which the best direction to jump was. Martin was leaning to Kyle''s side surprisingly as he saw how powerful Maria and Susan were and thought this may be an opportunity to become stronger.


    Draken was the first to move as he liked Kyle and Maria, standing up he moved around the table before he knelt to Kyle.


    "Okay Lord Kyle I''m in, do I need to swear an oath to you or do you want to place a seal on me."


    Draken understood the issues with what Kyle was planning and knew that while Kyle wasn''t worried about people knowing he was beginning to move he still wouldn''t want everyone to know the details.


    "Welcome aboard Draken, I''ll put a seal on you but it''ll be the secret seal we discussed before. Can you explain it to these gents before I place it on you?"


    "Of course simply put this seal only prevents you from sharing secrets to those without this seal within them."


    Seamus and Martin were once again surprised by the versatility of these people. Where did they come from and why didn''t anyone know about them?


    Seamus had seen Kyle in the markets on occasion from when he was out looking for unusual minerals and ores. The last time he had seen him Kyle was roundly beating the guards of Willem Miles who had come to cause trouble. Seamus liked this kid when he saw him defending the store holders.


    "Okay then Draken I''ll place the seal on you and then you need to look outside to understand what I mean when I say we can defend ourselves."


    Draken didn''t understand what Kyle was saying but accepted the seal placed upon him none the less. Kyle implanted the key to the illusion arrays at the same time so Draken could see what was hidden before his eyes.


    After a moment Draken stood up and quickly checked himself over. He couldn''t feel any restrictions placed upon him which would be an indication that he was placed under a slave seal.


    "Remember to look outside."


    Kyle gently reminded him while everyone who came with Kyle were grinning maliciously as they knew what was coming. Kyle was thinking to himself ''this never gets old''.


    Draken moved to the window and looked outside. For a second he didn''t notice anything, the streets were the same the building were also the same. He did notice that there were 2 large square buildings in the distance which he couldn''t remember.


    As his eye''s travelled up he noticed that there was something large and grey in colour in the distance. It wrapped from the right to the left without a break and was huge, taller than any other buildings in town.


    Draken''s mouth was open wide at this point while his pupils had shrunk almost to the size of pinheads.


    "MOTHER HUMPER!!"


    He exclaimed when he saw this before he turned almost as if he was on a pivot and looked at Kyle with shock and awe.


    "How did you hide it?"


    Draken could only ask that as he knew there were arrays that could conceal things but not at this level.


    "I made some changes, so do you think we can defend ourselves?"


    Kyle asked with a cheese eating grin on his face which irked Draken but he decided to go along with his new lord.


    "Yes I don''t think anything will be able to threaten us."


    "Thank you Draken, now I hate to pressure you but Martin, Seamus you need to make a decision."


    Seamus and Martin now felt the pressure to agree climbing, Martin was already close to crumbling but on seeing Draken he decided to take the leap but before that he wanted to check something.


    "If I agree would I be able to continue my mage training."


    His eyes drifted to Maria and Susan as he wanted to be stronger.


    "Yes we will give you what you need to progress, I won''t explain it now but you''ll be required to train with my household for a while."


    Martin was happy with this concession, he didn''t realise Kyle would have insisted on this anyway so it was a win-win.


    Martin knelt to Kyle and also received his seal and looked over the city from the window. His reaction was more amusing than Draken as he straight up fainted when he saw what was outside.


    "He really fainted; I only thought that stuff happened in stories."


    Kyle was amused when he saw this. If this was enough to shock Martin into unconsciousness he couldn''t wait until he began training with his forces.


    Seamus was the last left and he had one question he wanted answered.


    "Why do you want us to work for you?"


    "I''m impressed you''re the only one to ask that question. Simply put you guys will form the infrastructure of our new empire. The other unions all follow your leads so if you''re on board they will be too and we can begin making improvements almost instantly."


    Seamus digested this for a moment and found this was a good answer. If they were allowed to improve the infrastructure a lot of things would be possible as long as they could survive the upcoming troubles.


    "Okay I''m in."


    Seamus did the now familiar bow and received his seal before looking out the window. His reaction was to begin shaking all over. ''How could they build all this without anyone knowing''?


    "Excellent so that''s the leaders all sorted. Let me introduce you to my representatives. Maria you''ll be in contact with Draken, Randall with Seamus and when he wakes up Martin with Alena. What you need to do is give any information or requests to these reps and we''ll deal with it. Also if you have any people who you want to bring in give them their names and we''ll check them out. Anything else before we head out?"


    "Can I have cookies?"

 111 Chapter 111 Cookie, cookie, cookie

    "Can I have cookies?"


    It looked like Martin was a little confused after he had fainted and thought he was somewhere else as he came around. Kyle decided it would be better not to antagonise his new recruit so he tried to talk him back around.


    "Martin you''re still in the meeting you just fain....passed out when you saw our preparations."


    Kyle decided it would be best not to say aloud about the wall and bastions until he was ready to reveal them. Recently he had been thinking about the best way to drop the illusions and he had already got something in place which would make him laugh.


    "Really no cookies then can I stay home and make them with you mommy?"


    *Cough* How do you respond to that. Kyle almost lost it and he could see everyone else had tears in their eyes at what Martin had said. Martin slowly shook his head like a concussed dog before slowly looking around at everyone.


    "What was I just saying?"


    Martin asked with a confused expression on his face. He could see everyone else had an expression on their face which was difficult to describe, the closest analogy he could find was when someone was really straining on the toilet.


    "Don''t worry Martin it wasn''t important and you were quite confused."


    When Martin heard this he really wanted to know what he had said but instead decided it may be better not to know. Kyle continued on with the meeting and between them they had discussed which personnel should be included where.


    Draken and Seamus would redirect their chosen people either to New Grange city or if they were too far away Kyle would activate bastions local to where they were as a priority. With the falcons on hand he would be able to quickly send out single people to trigger the bastions before they would give letters to the necessary people before leaving to their next assignment.


    In the case of the alchemists the decision was made that all of them would be brought to New Grange City so they could be under their direct protection due to their low numbers. Kyle hoped these people would willingly join with them but he at least wanted to keep them from aiding the enemies.


    Kyle also introduced Martin to Alena, while Martin wasn''t as much of a prick as he was in the beginning Kyle could see he wasn''t impressed with Alena.


    "Martin I think you are missing something. Alena has a great deal of knowledge in regards to Alchemy, why don''t you ask her some questions in order to gauge her competence?"


    "That may be a good idea; if I wanted to produce a pill which would promote mana circulation for warriors what plants and herbs could I use in the local area?"


    "Currently we have stocks of red marrow, signit, golden grass and dire bane which all could be used with base agents to produce a mana pill tailored to normal warriors."


    Martin was surprised as it didn''t even appear that Alena needed to think about this but he had another follow up question.


    "Mostly correct but signit is poisonous why did you include that in your list?"


    "By using water isip or the seeds from a carna apple you can remove the poisonous effects without damaging the overall potential of the pill."


    Martin was further impressed by her knowledge but he didn''t know about the seeds from the apple as the isip was rather hard to find but the apples could be found everywhere but due to their bitterness no one used them for anything and there where at least 8 seeds per apple.


    "Are you sure about the seeds?"


    "Yes Kyle and I have been experimenting with various ingredients looking for shortcuts or ways to produce what we need easily."


    Martin looked at Kyle who was now talking with Draken before he looked at Alena with a happy gaze. It looked like he had made the right choice. Seamus had been listening in on their conversation while he had been speaking to Randall about their methods and who they would invite; he had noticed a little choice of words from Alena which caught his attention.


    "Excuse me sorry to interrupt but what do you mean by normal warriors?"


    Alena noticed she had slipped up and quickly looked to Kyle for direction. Kyle had stopped talking and was watching them with a grin plastered on his face again which made the guild masters all think he was going to drop another bomb on them. He nodded to Alena indicating she could tell them about the forces as they were now a part of his war potential.


    "Well when Kyle said you could continue in you paths what he didn''t tell you is that we have a new cultivation technique which has never been seen before."


    All three were impressed but Martin originally being from the capital had a greater understanding of the various techniques understood something.


    "When you say never seen before, you mean it didn''t come from any of the original techniques?"


    This statement caught Kyle''s attention as he always wondered about the sources of the techniques and why it takes so long for new or different ones to appear. It was known some come from ancient sites but not all.


    "What do you mean the original techniques?"


    "Well all of our current techniques come from a few sources. The others we find are almost always incomplete or are worse than the originals. These are usually used as auxiliary techniques or are mixed with the originals in some way to produce ''new'' techniques."


    Kyle now understood why some techniques were better than others, it was simply because some were in their base form while others had bits removed or added to give a desired effect. The problem was that any problems in these modified techniques wouldn''t become visible for months or even years.


    "No this isn''t an adjusted technique it is a completely new technique which allows people to walk all three paths simultaneously. It does have a flaw, that being the mana requirements once you reach higher levels but luckily we have mana accumulation rooms which allows us to progress at an even faster rate than normal cultivators."


    "Wow just wow, will we be able to this technique?"


    Draken asked even though his exclamation was still delivered in his deadpan voice making it sound as though he was rather bored being there with them.


    "Of course all my people are training in our technique; I should also let you know that unlike the other techniques ours is broken down into pieces for each level."


    All three were happy with this as they would be able to train in all three paths meaning Seamus could throw around fir to match his hair which secretly he always wanted to do.


    "Sorry but now I need to ask would our pills still help these people?"


    Martin asked as he was now slightly worried if his services would still be required. Alena was the one who responded to him as she was Kyle''s resident alchemist.


    "Yes but you would also need to broaden your horizons, we are strengthening our pills so that our units who can''t utilise the accumulation chambers can still progress at the same rate. Also we will be developing healing potions and salves for the teams; finally we also deal in poisons."


    "Wait why do you need poisons?"


    Seamus was the one to ask this question, in this city fights would usually be straight up fights. It wasn''t a question of honour but just they lacked the knowledge or inclination to be proper assassins. The only time someone attempted to poison someone else namely Kyle was due to interference from sources in the capital.


    "We have a team of assassins and spies who deal with enemies before they can lead an attack."


    Kyle responded to Seamus shocking the three once again. They knew that kill teams existed but the Powell''s having such a team was shocking.


    "If you have a team of assassins why don''t you just send them after the Miles family leadership?"


    Draken asked as this was in the forefront of his thoughts as soon as he heard it. If you could cut the head off the snake it could no longer bite you.


    "We are past that now plus you should know what defences they have covering their main compound. Also we have a spy in our family so we are using all this chaos and confusion to flush them out. Don''t worry about the enemy our forces are already weakening them through the loss of finances and personnel while strengthening ourselves."


    Kyle gave them some information about his operation so they understood everything was currently in hand as much as it could be. What he didn''t tell them was that all three of them had been shadowed by members of ''steel lotus'' and they would continue to shadow them as guards from now on and would only reveal themselves when necessary.


    Kyle decided it was time to wrap this up and stood up and shook all three guild masters hands.


    "We have work to do but your representatives will be coming by tomorrow so I need you the lists of personnel you need moving and any letters that need to go out ready for them understood?"


    All three gave a resounding "Yes Sir!" before Kyle lead the way out, as they were leaving a little voice sounded out and was heard by everyone in the room and almost gave Martin a coronary from his repressed memories resurfacing.


    "I could really go for some cookies right now."

 112 Chapter 112 Rushing to the tournamen

    "I could really go for some cookies right now."


    "Don''t worry Susan we can pick up some on the way home, while I''m thinking about it could someone remind me to make Elena some pancakes when we get back. I''d promised her and forgotten till just now."


    The group were chattering as they left the guild heads could only watch them as they left before beginning to move themselves. It looked like they would have some busy days ahead of them but maybe they would have brighter days coming if they survived the coming chaos.


    Kyle and his group made their way back and got down to business. The first groups had been dispatched in the morning to the three cities on the edge of the demarcation zone and they should arrive in a couple of weeks.


    Kyle spoke to his heads and they began planning which cities should take priority during their take over. Of course all of the hub cities needed to be seizes along with the border cities to protect their territory but there were others which would be needed to maintain transport routes.


    This was going to be a logistical nightmare but they carried on crunching the numbers. Over the next few days they began cycling through different guard teams, placing each group under the secret seal.


    Each of these teams were vetted by Landon or his faithful elders so there was a low chance of them turning while ''shadow hand'' and ''steel lotus'' continued thinning the herd as it was. Faye was heard complaining recently that regardless of how many people they free or kidnap there would always be more which was seconded by One.


    Luckily this was all for a purpose and Kyle''s three forces numbers were swelling at a fast rate now with former thieves and mercs joining them by hook or by crook. These people already had experience in combat but they lacked the artistry Kyle had taught his people so now they were training hard to catch up and to be useful in the upcoming fights.


    There was an obvious difference between after their basic training and before as they had been taught as if they were brawlers, they would rush in swinging wildly relying on strength in numbers or those few who had them using skills to turn the tide of battle.


    It would be safe to say that what they had been taught before let them fight were as what they had learnt now was the correct way to kill. Kyle was happy with their current progress as with the increase in numbers and the qualitative change in their combat potential they could fight and defeat a larger force.


    Alena and Martin had also been working together, after he had given Kyle his list of personnel that needed recovering Kyle had invited him to work with Alena in his alchemy lab. This proved to be a good thing.


    Currently they didn''t require cultivation resources instead they would need medical and healing items. Martin had a wide range of recipes at his disposal and Alena was a prodigy when it came to finding alternative ingredients which would replace hard to find ones or in some cases even improve on the existing effects.


    Kyle''s crafting teams had stopped producing items to sell on the market and were now fully focused on producing arms and armour for his forces to ensure that all of the newly acquired members would have everything they needed.


    Luckily they had already laid in a lot of lower graded stock from when they were training so they merely moved those items to the shop or re-forged them so they were up to spec for the new members.


    The variety of weapons on display was ridiculous, everyone was training and using the weapons they were most comfortable with so when you saw everyone together it looked like just a rabble but they each of the forces had their respective armours so this gave a strange effect and it ended up just looking wicked and scary in the end.


    The falcons had also finally had their time to shine with them being used to ferry a few members out with the letters and communiqu¨¦s from the guild heads which got everything moving. A few people were shocked when over the span of a few days almost all the alchemists had disappeared from the northern territory and no one knew where they had disappeared to.


    Kyle had also tried flying on his falcon and he had to say it was really enjoyable he had even taken Elena, Miranda and Clara up with him just for fun although they also had their own falcons. Clara''s falcon had also laid eggs so in a little while they would have 6 more falcons if nothing went wrong.


    Kyle had also been thinking about enlarging his beast contingent since he found that they don''t need to eat all that often and instead drew most of their sustenance from the mana they absorbed. The beasts seemed to closer to true cultivators than the human cultivators seemed to be as they could use their mana to sustain themselves.


    Time was marching on and Kyle had finally released Archie, Neil and Clyde from their crash training course but they didn''t stop training with Kyle''s household as they had seen the progress in their training.


    Clyde and Neil had been discussing something between themselves over the last few days and finally they approached Kyle with determined expressions on their faces.


    "Kyle can we talk to you when you have a minute?"


    Neil was the one who spoke, even though Clyde had become more confident recently he was now just quiet rather than being introverted.


    "Sure I have some time right now so let''s grab a seat."


    They walked over to a bench in the recreation area of the courtyard and Neil thought for a second before he spoke.


    "Kyle we know that there is stuff going on you aren''t telling us. With all the new people coming and going, some being guards and some appearing to be slaves and thugs we know that something is happening and it''ll happen soon. Can you let us help you?"


    "Please Kyle you''ve helped us so let us help you."


    Clyde followed up with his shorter but just as passionate plea to help Kyle and the family in general. Kyle looked between them and decided to trust them, hopefully they wouldn''t have to choose between those closest to them and the family at large but as time was going on it looked more and more likely the traitor was one of Kyle''s uncles.


    "There is a war coming, we think the first blow is going to be during or just after the harvest festival. We haven''t spread out our knowledge of this attack to far as we have a traitor in our midst."


    Kyle went on to explain his poisoning and the attacks he had suffered once he began to show his strength. Clyde and Neil listened to this with darkening expressions. They could see from how Kyle was explaining what had happened and that there was a traitor that he believed it was one of their parents who was the traitor.


    "So you think it could be one of our fathers who betrayed us?"


    Neil asked with an angry expression on his face, Kyle just looked to him calmly before he simply stated.


    "That is what the evidence is showing."


    Neil deflated at this simple statement while Clyde had his brow furrowed thinking of all the things his father had said and done but he couldn''t come to any conclusion.


    "Don''t think about it too much, I know this probably doesn''t help but no one believes you have anything to do with this. If we did why would we train you to be strong enough to protect yourselves?"


    Clyde and Neil were happy when Kyle said this as they always cared for their younger cousin like he was their little brother. They were both still worried about their parents and in the few days they had left before the tournament they would try to find out if their parents had truly done something.


    Everyone continued training and gradually the day of the tournament arrived. Kyle had prepped all of his people along with some surprises for his enemies when they showed themselves. He had been waiting for this for years now and with all the pieces in place now it was time for the games to begin.


    Kyle washed himself and got dresses before heading down and gave his morning greeting to everyone in the kitchen like usual. Kyle took a seat as he had been told yesterday than Bruno and he wouldn''t have to help with breakfast as they were the stars of today''s show.


    Miranda, Clara, Elena and Alena were already sitting down and Bruno arrived just behind Kyle so they all ended up sitting together and chatted about the upcoming tournament. Kyle was distracted when he saw Elena''s plate.


    "Oh did you finally get your pancakes?"


    "No these are crepes *humph*."

 113 Chapter 113 Making an entrance

    "No these are crepes *humph*."


    It looked as though Elena was unhappy with him at the moment as he had forgotten to make her pancakes again and none of the people he had asked to remind him had. He would have to make it up to her somehow but for now he needed to get ready for the tournament.


    Landon and Maria weren''t there for breakfast today as they and the rest of the upper echelon of the family had already headed over to the tournament grounds to mingle with the rest of the leadership within New Grange City.


    Kyle looked over those who were still here and noted that the numbers were far fewer than usual as most of his people were out doing various jobs in preparation for the incoming chaos. Looking to his left he saw Miranda and Clara talking with each other and looking in his direction occasionally.


    "Okay what''s wrong you two, you''ve barely said anything to us since we sat down?"


    Kyle asked as it didn''t look as though they would voluntarily speak about what was on their minds.


    "Well I was talking to my father last night and he said that I should stay here and guard the mansion."


    Clara said with a dissatisfied expression on her face which was mirrored by Miranda.


    "Yes my father said the same thing but we''ve trained just as hard as anyone else so we want to stand beside you all."


    Kyle could see the fire in their eyes and the desire to help their family, blood and extended. Thinking about it for a minute he realised that if these girls chose to enter the fray separately from anyone else it could lead to a greater hazard than if they stayed with him and his team.


    This could be difficult as he knew that if he took them along without their father''s permission it could cause a wedge between him and Ash and Liam. Shifting his focus he was looking for inspiration when his eyes fell on Lauren and Iris.


    If you can''t get permission from daddy you could always try mommy Kyle thought. So with a devious look on his face which wouldn''t be out of place on a politician Kyle looked at Miranda and Clara.


    "Was it just your fathers who banned you from going out or were your mothers involved in that decision?"


    Clara and Miranda froze for a second before looking at each other and rushed over to their mothers. Both Liam and Ash were already out and about, Ash was organising the ''death watch'' and situating them in some homes near to the tournament grounds in the middle of the city. Liam was helping One and ''shadow hand'' as he didn''t have a specific force to aid.


    Kyle was situating the ''death watch'' within the city so they were ready to respond as soon as the fighting broke out and with the money they had made lately they had purchased houses in various areas of the city to operate as safe houses and kicking off zones.


    Their equipment had already been smuggled into their relevant staging areas by ''shadow hand'' previously so the men only had to dress in commoner clothing when they headed to their relevant staging areas.


    This wasn''t a problem for ''shadow hand'' as they were already operating within the city and had multiple stashes and safe houses they could spill from and as they were more lightly armoured they could move much faster than the ''death watch''.


    ''Steel lotus'' was even less of a worry as they were a spy and assassination team their speed was the fastest and they were spread out in squads of five at various locations to hit specific targets. These included leaders of gangs and ranking members of the Miles family who wouldn''t be present at the "festivities" with the others.


    These squads would have at least 2 members who had been fully trained and had reached an acceptable level in Faye''s eyes while the rest could be considered interns as they weren''t as strong or as well trained but could still help.


    There was a similar operational layout with ''shadow hand'' and the ''death watch'' as with the influx of new members they hadn''t been able to fully train everyone as well as the longer serving members. Anyone who didn''t make the cut was stationed within the bastions and was on standby and would only be called if the situation became FUBAR.


    Kyle couldn''t wait for everything to start as with the years of preparation and the little gimmicks he had prepared he wanted the fight done and over so they could begin moving openly. Elena seemed to sense Kyle''s agitation and impatience so she placed a hand on his shoulder before speaking to him.


    "It''s okay Kyle I forgive you, just make me pancakes later."


    Turning to her Kyle was blinded by a winning smile and in any other situation he would be captivated by it, however he could only shake his head due to Elena once again misunderstanding the situation but hey at least she managed to calm him down.


    Alena and Bruno were talking quietly on their own and after a little while Alena kissed Bruno which made both of them go bright red. Everyone who saw this could only go aww increasing their embarrassment so Bruno decided to run.


    "Are you ready to go Kyle, we don''t want to be late do we?"


    "Almost bro what was the kiss for by the way?"


    Kyle wanted to tease Bruno a little as he found this puppy love/romance between him and Alena really cute.


    "It was for luck okay?"


    Bruno was hoping Kyle would help him out but it looked like he wouldn''t get any help from his bud in this matter. Elena who heard this put a finger on her chin and pondered for a moment before she suddenly grabbed Kyle and full on French kissed him in front of everyone.


    "Good luck."


    She said once they separated, with a shocked Bruno and a scandalised Alena watching. Kyle was a little concussed himself but quickly shook it off, if only Elena understood the things she did he might be happy but he wouldn''t worry about it for now.


    Clara and Miranda came back at this point but could sense the awkward atmosphere they had just walked into.


    "What happened?"


    "Yeah why are Bruno and Alena red in the face?"


    Miranda and Clara were looking between their friends and Elena was the one who responded.


    "Alena gave Bruno a kiss for luck so I did the same for Kyle."


    Hearing this Miranda and Clara looked at Kyle for a second but with everyone now watching them they couldn''t bring themselves to do it. Kyle decided to move this along so he asked them what their mother''s had said.


    "So what''s the word do you stay or do you go?"


    "Our dad''s hadn''t even spoken to our mother''s so they said it is okay as long as we stay with the protection team." Clara declared with a proud look on her face while Miranda nodded while she was softly touching her lips apparently still thinking about kissing Kyle again.


    "Alright then let''s get moving, everyone you know what to do so let''s get to it."


    Kyle spoke to his friends first before directing his words to the surrounding people. These guys would be staying within this bastion but they all had jobs to do. The kids would all be in the library along with Lauren and Iris under the pretence that they needed to monitor the other bastions through the display there.


    Kyle''s group headed to the stable and in passing Kyle caressed his steed to calm it down. Their falcons were currently spread out amongst the different bastions and would be ready to support them when needed.


    Kyle and crew mounted up and headed to the tournament area which was in the park within the grounds of the imperial overseer. This was a very simple layout with a large arena made of a semi soft substance like the rings in a sumo arena, this meant that throws and the like wouldn''t damage the participants but they would still feel the hit.


    When Kyle and his crew arrived they were greeted by Captain Tobias and a team made up of members of the ''death watch'' who would be working as their guards during this time. Ash and Dylan were already with their teams watching the arena''s just waiting for the go signal.


    Kyle could feel a heated gaze on his back and just knew Ash was itching to give him a beating when all this was over for bringing his little girl into this dangerous area but Kyle wasn''t scared as he would just draw the Lauren card if it came to it.


    They headed into the venue and moved over to Landon and Maria who were sitting on a higher platform overlooking the stage with the other family heads beside them and the imperial overseer being in the centre with the Miles family head sitting to his left and the Tor family head next to them.


    Leonard Black was seated to the right of the imperial overseer with his wife next to him and finally Landon and Maria were next to them. Everyone could see that the Black family and the Powells were close as they were happily chatting and even some of the elders were talking with each other.


    "Father, Mother we have arrived were should we go to get ready?"


    Kyle asked his parents to let them know that he had arrived. They pulled themselves away from their conversation with the Blacks and turned their attention to Kyle and Bruno.


    "Good morning Kyle, if you head over to the ring you''ll see Neil and Clyde with the other participants on the bench you can just join them."


    Kyle and Bruno nodded before they headed over to the participants bench with Clyde and Neil. Archie was also sat next to them so they all began discussing what the plan was.


    Each year the rule may change if the participants agreed and Kyle was curious if the enemy would try to use this little rule to their advantage but he didn''t know how they could twist something like that to their favour.


    While they were in discussion a shrill and disagreeable voice sounded out near to them.


    "Oh look the Powells and the Blacks are getting on well, scum goes to scum I suppose."


    This was Raith Miles the eldest son of the Milles family and following him was none other than Willem Miles his little brother and the brat Kyle had "educated" in Bruno''s family store. Everyone noticed the Miles family looking for trouble with the Powell and Black families, recently whenever Kyle and Willem had encountered each other there would always be sparks and it looked like today would be no different.


    "Oh look it rat weasel and mini rat weasel I thought I could smell dung but it was just you speaking."


    Kyle shot back at Raith while Willem was staring daggers at him.


    "How dare you talk to my brother like that you scum."


    Willem returned with this statement which just showed a lack of imagination.


    "Wow scum this scum that you really need to get a better vocabulary, well rat weasels I''ve got places to be."


    Kyle decided to look around the venue but as he was passing Willem he slowed down and placed his hand on his shoulder before whispering something in his ear. Everyone saw Willem''s face change as Kyle spoke before he turned and tried to punch him. Kyle easily moved around Willem''s fist and caught his wrist holding him in place.


    "Aww little Willem got a problem?"

 114 Chapter 114 Lets get ready to rumble!

    "Aww little Willem got a problem?"


    Willem seemed to become enraged at Kyle''s taunt and began to swing wildly throwing in a kick here and there. Kyle easily deflected all these and even managed to turn Willem 180 degrees before kicking him in the butt making him collide with his older brother.


    Willem quickly turned back with his hand glowing apparently ready to use a skill of some description which caused a lot of the other competitors to back away. Archie, Neil, Clyde and Bruno didn''t back away as they were looking forward to Willem getting pwned but before the chaos could spread any further a loud voice was heard.


    "Enough if you want to fight then do it in the ring!"


    It was one of the officials for the tournament who had ceased their aggression. Willem huffed before he looked at Kyle maliciously the cogs in his mind seemed to be turning before he venomously spat out.


    "If you were only in my age bracket I would destroy you."


    "Oh you''re already 16 I thought that you were about 4 from that show of skill."


    Everyone who wasn''t part of the Miles family or from the imperial retinue with a couple of outliers giggled a little at Kyle''s taunt. Willem had a vein pulsing at his temple but squashed his annoyance down before he put his plan into motion.


    "You know that we can change a rule if everyone agrees. Well seeing how strong you are why don''t we say that if the winner and second place in the younger bracket consent they can compete in the next bracket up. With your skill I''m sure you''ll be able to win your group."


    At this Clyde, Neil and Archie face palmed simultaneously while the rest of the Powell family team just looked like they had lost a puppy. Archie''s team seeing this reaction could only be curious as to why they were acting like this as they hadn''t been included in their training.


    "Well looks like we won''t get a chance to stand out."


    "Yup time to get beaten again."


    "At least I''ll get my 15 minutes in the sun."


    It didn''t need to be said which of them said what as the feeling was more than enough. The officiator on hearing this looked at the other competitors and they all seemed to be happy with this new rule, if they won in their age group they could at least try to beat those in the older group to show what they could do.


    With the consent of the competitors the official approached the family heads and the imperial overseer and quietly told them of the rule the competitors wished to enact. The overseer and the Miles family head had equally malicious grins on their faces because if Kyle got knocked out early he would be killed in the incoming chaos and if he got through he may have to face Willem who could use his skills to really hurt him.


    The Tor family head merely nodded to this rule as he had no real reason to block it. The Black and Powell families quickly discussed it with each other and Landon quickly looked in Kyle''s direction and caught his eye. Kyle gave a tiny nod so Landon and Leonard both agreed to the rule change.


    The imperial overseer on receiving the go ahead of the noble families had the rule sheet brought out and a scribe wrote the new rule on it before the overseer signed on the space underneath it.


    "The new rule as requested by our virtuous competitors has been put into place and we wish to see how they mean to entertain us."


    The imperial overseer was a pompous twat in Kyle''s opinion but he was a politician so Kyle needed to be careful if he planned to cause him problems during the tournament.


    With everything ready everyone returned to their respective seats while the lots were drawn. The first group of 10-15 was drawn. Kyle and Bruno were separated during the bouts and wouldn''t meet each other until the final. The noble family''s names were placed in a separate drawing bout so they wouldn''t meet each other during the first match.


    This was because the noble families had better resources which meant their younger generations were stronger than their peers. If they met to early people may get bored with the later matches so to keep the hype up it was configured in this way.


    Kyle and Bruno would both be fighting against lower aristocrats in their first battle so the both got up lazily and got in the queue waiting for their turn in the ring. Bruno would be first up so Kyle gave him a slap on the shoulder.


    "Don''t cock it up, just remember Alena is watching."


    "Yeah thanks bro I wasn''t nervous until you said that."


    Bruno responded before looking to his paramour who waved to him when she saw him looking at her. She was seated with the other girls with the guards sitting just behind them.


    "Are you going to ask for a weapon battle or just a fist fight?"


    Kyle asked as people could request to use weapons or could fight with their fists if they so chose. If the competitors couldn''t agree it would be decided with a coin flip.


    "I think a fist fight to start that should be more fun."


    As they were talking the referee entered the stage and called up the first Bruno and his opponent. Bruno shook the competitors hand before the match which surprised his opponent as it showed a certain respect.


    "How do you wish to fight?"


    "Unarmed."


    "Same."


    "Good the first battle will be a fight of fist against fist. You may begin at the gong; victory will be determined by a ring out, knockout or surrender."


    With that the referee stepped away and Bruno and competitor A went to their starting positions, once they were in place a loud gong sounded out and they rushed towards each other. Or at least competitor A did, Bruno just seemed to be strolling towards him but as they were about to make contact Bruno ducked and used his shoulder to barge competitor A at a slightly upwards angle.


    When Bruno made contact competitor A left the ground and sailed through the air before crashing to the ground. He wasn''t injured but was winded as where Bruno had hit him put pressure on his diaphragm knocking the wind out of him.


    "You shouldn''t swing so wide it leaves you open like that."


    Bruno stated in a friendly way, this was how Kyle had taught him how to fight and how Bruno had trained with the others each noticing and pointing out each other''s flaws making them all stronger.


    Competitor A struggled to his feet and placed his hands on his knees while breathing deeply before he looked to Bruno with a confused expression on his face.


    "Why didn''t you press your advantage?"


    "What purpose would that serve? We aren''t enemies this is just a little game."


    When he heard this he realised that while Bruno wasn''t a bad person he wasn''t taking this tournament seriously at all so after receiving Bruno''s strength he felt it would be better to bow out gracefully.


    "I can''t fight you with your strength so I concede."


    With that competitor A left the ring.


    "Winner Bruno of the Powell family."


    There was a smattering of applause as Bruno also left the ring. He headed back over to wait with Kyle who looked at him with an odd look on his face.


    "What?"


    "You could have made that last longer."


    "Yeah but I want to get to the main event."


    "Okay but let''s have some fun okay, the girls are here for a show and if we don''t deliver you can explain it to Elena."


    Bruno looked over at said person and saw her looking at him with a piercing gaze.


    "Okay but can you ask her not to look at me like that?"


    Kyle also turned to Elena and waved at her which made her look away from Bruno before she waved back at Kyle before she looked back at the stage as 2 new competitors entered the stage. This was more of a conventional fight as both opted to go unarmed again and were throwing straights at each other, one after another.


    Kyle shook his head at this as without their skills these people were straight punchers and would barely move. This continued for the next couple of matches as even the members of the noble houses only moved minimally to lessen the impacts they received.


    No one had really paid attention to how Bruno had fought as he had rushed straight in and only dodged at the last moment but Kyle''s turn was now up so he would show them the truth of martial arts.


    He was up against another no name competitor but Kyle still shook his hand like Bruno did and once again they both opted to go unarmed. Most of the juniors would fight unarmed due to the preference of great swords being a problem for most of them with their smaller stature.


    When the gong sounded competitor B rushed in like the others had done but as he reached Kyle and swung wide Kyle ducked under his arm and rather than body check like Bruno had done Kyle pivoted on his right foot and kicked his opponent in the back.


    He didn''t use much force but it was still enough to make competitor B stumble over due to him already sprinting. Getting back up competitor B rushed back at Kyle, what followed seemed to be a mix of ballet from Kyle and a series of prat falls from his opponent. Eventually his opponent got frustrated and shouted at him.


    "Why are you just dodging, fight me like a man."


    With that the opponent rushed Kyle again but this time Kyle didn''t dodge and just deflected and redirected every strike sent his way while occasionally giving his opponent an opening before easily blocking his attack.


    Competitor B couldn''t keep it up and after a little while became exhausted and like Bruno''s opponent put his hands on his knees wheezing for breath. Kyle at this point simply pushed competitor B on the shoulder and he collapsed on his back.


    "Winner Kyle of the Powell family."


    ''Well that was anticlimactic'' thought Kyle as he returned to Bruno''s side. Everyone was shocked as after all that Kyle didn''t have a drop of sweat on him. What was this monstrous stamina but unknown to them all of Kyle''s people could fight for this long even the youngest members of the household.


    Bruno was up again and this time he was facing someone from the Tor family. Kyle wanted to get everyone heated up for Bruno''s match so after thinking for a moment he grinned and looked to Elena as she would be the first to pick up on what he was doing.


    Elena was chatting with the other girls as she wasn''t really interested in this fight and just wanted the real fun to start when she felt someone was looking at her. Seeing Kyle''s expression she knew he was planning something and as usual she would follow his lead.


    As Bruno entered the arena he heard a strange primal rhythm and turned to see Kyle was the cause as he was stamping his feet and clapping his hands.


    *Stomp, stomp, clap, stomp, stomp, clap*


    "We will, we will rock you."

 115 Chapter 115 Karaoke competition

    "We will, we will rock you."


    *Stomp, stomp, clap, stomp, stomp, clap*


    Elena picked up on the beat quickly and began copying what Kyle was doing. Miranda, Clara and Alena realised what Elena and Kyle were doing and also joined in.


    Gradually more and more people got into the beat and began stomping and clapping along with them. Leonard and Landon along with their wives also began playing along much to the annoyance of the overseer and the head of the Miles family.


    Eventually the entire venue was alive with the beat and Bruno was looking around with a silly grin on his face while his opponent was just confused. Bruno began moving in time with the beat and was just playing around enjoying the atmosphere.


    The fight went much like the last one with the opponent being defeated quickly but no one was bothered as this turned out to be great fun with the audience participation.


    "Your son seems rather unbridled and without the decorum of a noble."


    It looked like the overseer wasn''t impressed with Kyle''s impromptu concert while the head of the miles family was gripping the armrest of his chair with enough force that it was making cracking sounds.


    "Please he''s just a child and enjoying himself there''s nothing wrong with that is there? I think we could all do with loosening up sometimes."


    Landon responded with a smile while thinking it was over but little did he know that this was only the start. Whenever Kyle or Bruno went up one of them would do something to mess around including Mexican waves, beat boxing, singing, Kyle even did the robot and threw in the occasional soccer chant.


    "Who ate all the pies, who ate all the pies you fat bast....what?"


    Just as Kyle was in the flow an official approached him while trying to keep a straight face as he really wanted to laugh at Kyle''s hi jinks.


    "Excuse me but the overseer has asked if you can cease this behaviour?"


    "Why it isn''t against any rules and everyone seems to be enjoying it."


    While most of the crowd was laughing and having fun like they were at a festival it was not wholly accurate that everyone was having fun because all of the members of the Miles family looked like they had swallowed a cockroach as most of the time Kyle was making fun of their members when they entered the stage.


    Kyle thought for a second as he knew that even with his Swiss cheese memory he wouldn''t have had the nerve to do this in his past life. The courage and confidence to make an ass out of yourself without a care for what may come after was something that he had only gained after his first death.


    Kyle looked to the raised platform where his father and the other leaders were seated and smiled when he saw the difference between the leaders. Landon and Leonard were openly laughing while Maria and Gemma had tears in their eyes from trying not to laugh.


    The head of the Tor family had a red face and his lips were quivering and Kyle knew it would only take a little push and he would also be laughing. The overseer and the head of the Miles family had red eyes and looked like they wanted to bash his skull in so seeing this Kyle gave them a little wave before he headed up for his next fight.


    There were no surprises in the junior bracket besides Kyle antagonising everyone and eventually Kyle and Bruno ended up in the final facing each other. Bruno took one look at Kyle before he bowed out.


    "Nope I''m not even going to try, if we both get to the finals we can fight just for the show."


    Those present were a bit dissatisfied with this as they were curious about who of these two unknown kids was the stronger because neither of them had to show any real strength as they defeated their opponents in just a few moves.


    "Well with the junior bouts over I need to ask if the winners wish to attempt to fight in the intermediate bout."


    "Of course."


    "Yup."


    Kyle and Bruno responded to the referee''s question with an affirmation before they returned to the bench and waited to be called up for the next round.


    In the first round of the intermediate bout Clyde was up. Kyle didn''t make fun or do anything to distract him and watched him closely while analysing his combat skills. Clyde was an analytical fighter and would test his opponent looking for weaknesses before striking directly.


    Clyde''s opponent couldn''t understand what he was doing and after Clyde had sent a few probing attacks at him struck out using a martial skill. This skill was merely condensing mana around his fist and blasting it forward.


    Clyde avoided this before the strike was even unleashed by seeing how his opponent was standing and moving sideways as the strike can only be fired in a straight line. As the strike was released Clyde moved parallel to the force and struck the opponent in the sternum knocking him down.


    The crowd saw the strike and were impressed with the power behind it but from their view it looked like Clyde knew what was coming and dodged by a hairs breadth before countering earning him cheers from everyone.


    Clyde''s opponent was lying on his back while rubbing his chest; Clyde walked over to him and questioned him.


    "Do you concede?"


    "Yes I give up you''re too strong for me."


    "Winner Clyde of the Powell family."


    With the announcement made Clyde held out his hand and helped up his opponent before they shook hands and returned to the bench.


    "So Kyle how did I do?"


    Clyde asked when he returned to the bench. A couple of those around heard the question and thought this older cousin was fishing for compliments from his little cousin.


    "Not bad but you could have defeated him before he used his skill if you were a bit more aggressive and your footwork still needs work you should have been able to cover that distance quicker than that."


    Kyle responded with his critique, Clyde listened to Kyle before nodding his head. As his teacher Kyle had every right to analyse his fight and give him direction. Everyone else who heard this was surprised and were wondering what the true relationship was between these cousins.


    Willem was in the next bout and he looked to Kyle with provocation in his gaze. Everyone could see the conflict between these young men and were looking forward to what would happen if and when they fought.


    Kyle saw this look and decided to carry on screwing around and took on a thoughtful look on his face as he was scouring his memory to find something to mess with Willem.


    As the fight was just about to commence Kyle began singing to himself but loudly enough that everyone could hear what he was singing.


    "She''s a bad mama jama...."


    When Willem heard this he stumbled and almost fell and the members of the Miles family all looked at Kyle with strange looks. Everyone present could see the strange atmosphere while Kyle just carried on singing away without a care in the world.


    The head of the Miles family was looking between Landon and Kyle who was moving along with his song. Willem looked furious and suddenly attacked his opponent with force knocking him clean out of the arena with a flash of mana when they made contact.


    "Winner Willem of the Miles family."


    Willem left the stage after this and walked to his father who had waved him over. They stepped to the side and began talking quietly to each other; Kyle and Bruno were watching them with identical grins on their faces.


    "What do you think they''re talking about?"


    Bruno asked while still grinning at them in an attempt to carry on messing with them.


    "Well I would guess the patriarch is asking why Willem reacted in the way he did and Willem is telling him that I said to him I would take care of his mother now she was out."


    "What do you mean?"


    "Oh sorry I only included those who were involved in the mission but it doesn''t matter now. That mission I went on with ''steel lotus'' a little while ago was to free the female members of the Miles family who were treated like slaves and whores while being imprisoned."


    "What is that true?"


    "Pretty much, we got them out and have secured them somewhere safe until all this BS is dealt with."


    "Well that''s good to hear, what are you going to do with Willem though?"


    "Don''t worry about it I''ve got my plans and with the way the fights are laid out I should be fighting him if he defeats Clyde."


    "Well that isn''t going to happen."


    "I wouldn''t underestimate him. That strike was pretty fast and if Clyde gets hit with that he may be forced to a ring out."


    Bruno was surprised with Kyle opinion of Willem as he didn''t seem to look down on him. Clyde had also heard this and rather than become angry he decided to be extra careful when dealing with Willem if Kyle felt he was dangerous.


    "Kyle of the Powell family please enter the ring."


    "Well looks like I''m up."


    "Okay any requests?"


    "Hum how about down with the sickness."


    "Ohh ahh ahh ahh."

 116 Chapter 116 The tournament continues

    "Ohh ahh ahh ahh."


    "Yeah Bruno promise me you''ll never do that again. Only one man can do that properly and I''m sorry that man isn''t you."


    "Okay then."


    Bruno responded while looking down with a shameful face before he began laughing which brought a wide smile to Kyle''s face. They were really enjoying themselves at the moment.


    Kyle stepped up and saluted his opponent before shaking his hand; this was another member of a lower aristocratic family who was around 17 years old so he had already been involved in one of these tournaments.


    Once they were in their spots his opponent took a stance ready for the bout, Kyle was standing casually with one hand in his pocket and the other in front of him. Even though it appeared Kyle was leaving himself open to attack his opponent didn''t want to underestimate him as he had been watching the previous rounds and had seen that Kyle wasn''t even remotely close to coming under pressure during them


    "Begin!"


    Kyle didn''t move and waited for his opponent to come to him, thinking that the first one to move will take the initiative the opponent moved fast and coated his legs in mana with the intention of using a skill which increases the impact force during contact.


    Kyle noticed that all of the skills these people used were all based around either blasting mana with force outwards like in the case of Clyde''s opponent or they would coat their limbs to increase the power of their strike like Willem and this opponent.


    As his opponent closed in on Kyle he suddenly jumped and tried to kick Kyle in the chest with his reinforced legs winning the match in a single move. How could Kyle be defeated like this? As his opponent was in the air Kyle merely ducked under him and as he flew majestically through the air Kyle caught his ankle and yanked hard.


    From the perspective of his opponent Kyle suddenly disappeared from his view then suddenly his face was rushing to meet the floor. Hitting the ring face first everyone could only give an ''ohhh'' as the opponent lay their coughing as he had the wind knocked out of him.


    This was quick and hard and the opponent would need a minute to recover. Kyle merely waited while whistling to himself. Other''s may find this as disrespectful but Kyle was playing a mind game and put a lot of pressure on anyone who would come up against him.


    His opponent gradually recovered and stood back up but just as Kyle was going to press his advantage he dropped out leaving Kyle standing there holding his proverbial cucumber.


    "Winner Kyle of the Powell family."


    With that Kyle advanced again, he knew this wasn''t going to be very interesting but damn this was ridiculous. Bruno wasn''t up for another few rounds so they sat back with Neil and Clyde and chatted amongst themselves.


    Everyone was looking at these young men and could only hope that they wouldn''t be made complete fools of during their matches.


    Willem was sat on the opposite side of the arena and his older brother was busy telling him what he should do and what he needed to do. Willem was splendidly ignoring him while staring at Kyle who wasn''t paying the slightest attention to him.


    Eventually Bruno''s turn came up and in the name of brevity let''s just say Bruno didn''t have any problems. The matches continued and the other competitor from the Powell family also made it through the first round with the others.


    Finally it was the time for the match Kyle wanted to see. Clyde versus Willem, this would be interesting to watch as Kyle had warned Clyde about the speed and power behind Willem''s strike. This was the best skill he had seen during the tournament as it showed timing and a little martial skill so he wanted to see how Clyde would respond.


    They entered the ring and at the signal they rushed towards each other. This was as opposed to Clyde''s earlier style where he hung back and observed his opponent. Willem began throwing quick jabs without coating his strikes in mana just to try and impede Clyde.


    Clyde deflected these before he kicked towards Willem''s thigh to try and break his rhythm. While Willem was caught by the strike he managed to move with it so it only caused a glancing strike but it did force him to take some steps back.


    Clyde followed him while throwing punches which now were charged with mana. This was again a simple use of mana but it was different than the skills used before as under Kyle''s direction Clyde had begun to compress and harden his externalised mana.


    By compressing his mana there was less loss and rather than surrounding his fist in a field of mana it now looked as though he had a glowing gauntlet over his hand.


    The older generation were impressed with Clyde''s use of mana as it showed a great degree of control and an aptitude in mana based augmentation. If they knew that Kyle was planning on directing Clyde to be a mage their eyes would probably pop out or they''d soil themselves either way was good in Kyle''s opinion.


    Willem was avoiding these blows and looked as though he was struggling more and more as he was pushed to the edge of the ring.


    What followed was an intense confrontation as Willem began to focus mana onto his forearms and shins to help defend against Clyde''s attacks while aiming for an opportunity to counter. This mana coating was not as condensed as Clyde''s was but it did show a reasonable level of control.


    Everyone gave grudging respect to Willem at this point as he was hanging in there against an apparently stronger and more skilful fighter. He began to take some hits but none of them were damaging and at best put him off balance slightly.


    Clyde was beginning to get frustrated by now as regardless of how he attacked Willem was like a cockroach which refused to go down, so when one of his strikes managed to knock him slightly off balance he took the chance and tried to follow up with a heavy strike with his right fist.


    All of this time Willem had been waiting for a slower strike like this and as the Clyde''s fist approached he pulled his right leg back while turning his waist and used the skill he had used in his last match and struck Clyde to his right rib cage.


    This strike made Clyde stumble past Willem who moved round him before kicking him from behind forcing him out of the ring. A lot of the members in the crowd stood up and cheered at this point as out of all the fights so far this had been the most exciting.


    Willem held his arms up in celebration while turning towards Kyle to bask in his glory and Kyle''s consternation. He was disappointed however as Kyle was simply watching with no appearance of annoyance and instead seemed to be thinking of something.


    Willem was displeased by this apparent lack of attention to him and quickly dropped his arms before walking off. The referee didn''t even get a chance to announce the match before Willem left so with a slightly embarrassed face he just did his job.


    "Winner Willem of the Miles family."


    Kyle was thinking instead of what would be happening once this tournament was over and feared if he had missed anything, but he couldn''t do anything else now as he had only acted based on the information he had on hand.


    Kyle was called up and was placed against another member of the Miles family. This was a no name junior who hadn''t received any of the family techniques or resources so Kyle didn''t even need to use a skill before he knocked him out.


    Everyone politely cheered for him but this fight lacked any of the passion and excitement of the previous bout.


    Gradually the fights continued with the Powell''s winning their bouts until it was finally time for Kyle and Willem''s battle.


    All eyes were fixed on the stage as Willem and Kyle entered, they had all seen the conflict between these two young men and they were looking forward to how this would play out.


    Willem had shown that he was a skilled fighter but no one had been able to force Kyle to show his true strength so he was an unknown quantity which lead to speculation amongst the crowd. Willem was looking at Kyle with venom before he spoke to him.


    "I''m going beat that pretty face of yours until your family won''t be able to recognise you."


    "You think I''m pretty, sorry I don''t swing that way."

 117 Chapter 117 Whatever happened to Edith

    "You think I''m pretty, sorry I don''t swing that way."


    Willem''s eye began twitching when he heard this; his hands balled into fists and produced a cracking noise. Kyle simply looked at him with a little grin on his face while the crowd were silent for a moment before they burst into loud laughter.


    The girls were also laughing at Kyle''s words while his parents were a little embarrassed by what he said they were also laughing as they couldn''t help themselves. Even the imperial overseer was struggling to keep from laughing.


    The only group who weren''t amused at this was the Miles family as they looked at how everyone was laughing at them but those in authority were swearing to themselves that the reckoning would be coming soon.


    Elena was laughing but suddenly she had a look of shock on her face which turned into fear and worry. She looked to her friends beside her who saw her look and stopped laughing.


    "What''s wrong El?" Clara asked with some concern, she knew Elena didn''t see the world in the same way as most of them did and feared she had noticed something they had missed.


    Miranda also ceased laughing and looked to her hoping it wasn''t anything that could cause problems with her family and more specifically to Kyle who was gradually outpacing everything else to be the most important thing in her life.


    "Is he coming onto Kyle? What if Kyle decides that he wants part of that life and leaves us behind?"


    Miranda, Clara and Alena heard this and their brains seemed to pause for a moment before they began howling with laughter even more than before.


    Clara was thinking to herself that she couldn''t wait to tease Kyle with this new Elenaism. The other two were crying with laughter which attracted the attention of the people around them who had gradually stopped laughing making them turn red and become silent looking demure and shy once again.


    Kyle who was in the ring took his eyes of Willem when he heard their laughter and was curious as to why they were laughing but due to the way they were laughing and the fact Elena was looking at them with a confused expression he could guess she had said something.


    While he was looking away Willem decided to attack, even though the match hadn''t started yet he struck with speed and accuracy with his skill in place with the apparent intent to injure or at least put Kyle at a disadvantage.


    As his fist approached Kyle''s head suddenly Kyle''s arm suddenly rose up and caught Willem''s fist without even looking at him. Kyle''s fist was coated in massively condensed mana far more so than Clyde''s and easily overpowered Willem''s skill.


    Kyle gave Willem a swift side kick to his stomach sending him sprawling to the other side of the ring before turning to face him. Willem lifted himself into a kneeling position and was holding his stomach when he looked towards Kyle.


    Kyle was watching him with a soft smile on his face and when he was sure that Willem was giving him his full attention he raised his hand and extended his index finger before wagging it in front of Willem.


    "Uh uh uh not until the match starts."


    Everyone in the crowd was silent at this as they had seen the control Kyle had over his mana which seemed to be greater than they had yet seen, the greater shock however was his physical strength as his kick which sent Willem flying wasn''t reinforced and was based on pure strength.


    Willem gradually recovered and moved to his starting position while Kyle did the same. There was no noise as everyone focused on these two competitors, they hoped this would be a good match at least as good or better than the one between Clyde and Willem previously.


    "Begin."


    The referee stepped away once he began the match but Kyle and Willem didn''t move. Kyle was relaxed and was just waiting for Willem to make a move where as Willem was watching Kyle intently looking for an indication of when he would attack.


    After nothing happened for about a minute the crowd began getting restless. So to move things along Kyle began walking slowly towards the centre of the ring. When Willem saw Kyle moving forwards he began to circle the outer perimeter of the ring looking for a spot to attack from.


    Once Kyle was in the middle of the ring he stopped moving and didn''t even turn to keep Willem in his view and simply waited. Willem had begun to sweat from an invisible pressure he had begun to feel from Kyle so once he had reached Kyle''s 7 o''clock he moved forwards to attack.


    The crowd held their breath when they saw Willem beginning to move to Kyle and thought he would turn or move or just do something but Kyle just waited until Willem began his attack.


    Kyle could sense everything around him due to his soul sense and when Willem''s fist was about to hit his neck he suddenly lowered his body and moved slightly to his right so Willem''s mana reinforced fist passed over his left shoulder.


    As the fist became visible in his peripheral vision Kyle caught his wrist with his right hand and pulled it forward. As Willem''s arm was extended Kyle gave 2 quick elbow strikes to Willem''s side before he rotated to his right while still holding Willem''s arm.


    Stepping back at the apex of his pivot he knocked Willem of balance and with the addition of the centrifugal force from his turn he threw Willem over his hip. Willem had a funny perspective at this point as he couldn''t do anything to change the throw and could only see Kyle''s head as he went straight over.


    Willem smashed into the ground like he was a plank and could just let out a groan, Kyle hadn''t let go of Willem''s arm when he threw him so he moved his arm so it was by Willem''s ear and put his other hand on his elbow so he couldn''t move his arm.


    Smiling down at the immobile Willem, Kyle flicked him on the forehead before he released him and stepped away. This move showed everyone that if Kyle wanted to defeat him he could have already done so and was instead playing with him without showing any regard for the standing of the Miles family.


    Willem gathered himself and took a stance again but he was shaking because he was still recovering from being slammed to the ground. Kyle was still smiling as he was looking at Willem before he spoke.


    "You know you should really quit I don''t want to have to hurt you."


    Willem was angry with this lack of respect from Kyle so without thinking he attacked him with a flurry of punches and kicks.


    Kyle blocked everything without even moving his feet and just blocked or swung his body to avoid strikes without even lifting his feet. The speed of Willem''s strikes gradually increased and began to become infuse with more and more mana but Kyle just blocked everything.


    The people couldn''t tell but Kyle had also infused his fists with mana so every time Willem''s strikes were blocked he would receive a little sting from Kyle''s mana. Willem was getting out of breath from punching out so quickly and for such a long time while Kyle didn''t appear to be winded at all.


    The crowd was silent once again as they saw this battle, it was far faster and nastier than the battle between Clyde and Willem before. A few also remembered that Kyle was also younger than Willem and shouldn''t even be in this age bracket.


    Gradually Willem ran out of steam and with a few more strikes could barely throw another punch. Usually in a fight there would be a flurry of activity and then the combatants would break apart giving them a chance to breath but in this case there had been no break.


    With a final punch Willem was done but as his fist approached Kyle he caught it straight without blocking or redirecting it. When he caught Willem''s fist Kyle charged mana in his other hand, suddenly there was a flash which blinded everyone followed by a thump.


    Once they could see again they saw Willem laying several feet away from where he was before while Kyle was standing nonchalantly still in the same position. Upon seeing this the referee rushed up and checked Willem and on confirming he was fine announced the result.


    "Winner Kyle of the Powell family."


    Kyle nodded to the referee before he returned to the bench as if nothing had just happened while Willem was helped up by a couple of his clansmen. One of his arms was noticeably hanging loosely at his side when he stood up.


    When Willem''s father saw this he rushed over to him and inspected the arm. There didn''t appear to be any broken bones or visible damage to the arm but there was no movement.


    "Willem what''s wrong with your arm?" His father asked with a little concern and a lot of anger.


    "I don''t know when he struck it felt like needles were put in my arm and now I can''t move it."


    Hearing his son the Miles family head looked to Kyle in anger before he started moving towards him when a voice sounded out from behind him.


    "Excuse me what do you think you''re doing?"


    It was Maria who spoke to him, turning too her with a sneer on his face the Miles family head spoke to her as if he was speaking to a slave.


    "Your son has injured mine so I you will compensate me for his injury."


    Mariah looked at him like he was a fool before responding.


    "This is a tournament he owes you nothing and neither do we."


    Hearing her speaking to him like this the Miles family head became even more enraged.


    "Who do you think you''re speaking to woman know your place."


    When she heard this her calm was gone and lightning began to flow around her and her eyes began to glow with a blue light. The Miles family head stepped back when he saw this as it seemed he had forgotten she was a mage as well as a sorcerer and she seemed to be more powerful than he was aware of. Just as it looked like there would be a brawl between these two Landon stepped in.


    "Dear it''s the juniors turn to fight let''s leave them to it."


    "Okay but if he tries anything again I''m turning him into charcoal okay?"


    "Of course I''ll even get some wine so I can watch in comfort."


    The Miles family head breathed sigh of relief when they said this as it looked like he dodged the lightning but as he grabbed Willem and was heading to the medical tent he heard Kyle just behind him.


    "I''m just curious but what is your name I''ve never heard anyone refer to you by it."


    The Miles family head looked back and could only see curiosity in Kyle''s face so he responded hoping to avoid any further issues.


    "My name is Edith."

 118 Chapter 118 Helping hand from a bro

    "My name is Edith."


    Well now everything was beginning to make sense, Edith must have got some issues due to his name and became a sociopath. At least that was what Kyle came up with in his head but he could see no else seemed concerned with his name.


    "Um can I just ask is there a reason you are called Edith?"


    Kyle decided to ask as he wanted to know if there was a story behind his name because as far as he was concerned this was a ladies name and an old ladies name at that.


    Edith was annoyed by Kyle but after being intimidated by Maria he decided it would just be easier to answer the question while avoiding a direct clash before the allotted time.


    "It''s a family name, sometimes the name will be given to a child but we usually have a generational gap before it is uses again."


    "Okay so who was the first holder of the name if I may ask?"


    "It was my great, great, great grand....mother."


    Everyone was curious about the story behind the name but when they heard it was from his grandmother everyone began tittering to themselves. Maria who had been full of righteous vengeance and furious anger a moment ago could only let this feeling go when she heard this and began giggling to herself.


    Gemma also began laughing and put her hand in front of her face to stifle the noise. How could the dangerous and ferocious Miles family turn out to be such a bunch of coconuts? In the face of the Powell''s and Kyle in particular they were a laughing stock.


    Edith had a vein popping out on his forehead when he saw everyone laughing and turned a venomous look towards Kyle. For his part Kyle approached him and placed a hand on his shoulder before saying to him.


    "It''ll be okay I won''t laugh."


    Edith merely huffed and walked away with Willem in tow, they headed to the medical bay to have Willem''s arm looked at. Kyle didn''t say but all he had done was shock a few nerves in Willem''s arm making it lose feeling without doing any real damage so he would be free from any blame.


    Returning to his bench he noticed everyone was looking at him with fear now as they saw how he dealt with Willem and they didn''t know if they stood a chance now. Even the older competitors including Raith, Willem''s older brother were looking at him with caution.


    Clyde was looking at Kyle with stars in his eyes after seeing how he dispatched Willem so easily. Even though they had been training together it was hard to gauge everyone''s respective strengths in particular Kyle because he always limited himself to train them properly.


    Bruno was up again before long and the tournament continued, Bruno won again and this match was far less exciting than Kyle''s so he progressed easily again. After Bruno''s battle Willem and Edith reappeared with Willem''s arm being in a sling.


    Kyle could hear them talking with Raith who had gradually got closer to the bench he was sitting on. It looked as though they had Willem checked over and couldn''t find any problems with his arm but he still couldn''t move it which made Edith look towards Kyle again with anger as he had been thoroughly humiliated this day.


    He wanted nothing less than to rip out Kyle''s spine and drink wine from his skull but he would have to wait till this farce was over. Thinking along these lines his mood improved and he left his sons together and returned to his seat at the high table.


    Watching the tournament Kyle began to become bored but he noticed that as the other competitors left to enter the arena the Miles brothers were gradually working their way around to his side, probably to look for trouble so Kyle was grinning a little as he couldn''t wait to mess with these 2 again.


    Eventually Kyle was up again so he entered the ring to fight against a mid class noble from the city. This noble took one look at Kyle and thought he was some kind of smiling sadist so he noped right out of there and before the match even began he had quit.


    Kyle was nonplussed by this and stood there for a moment before sighing and returned to his seat, before he got there he noticed the brothers had made their way around to his seat and were talking to Bruno and his cousins while Archie was sat next to them with a helpless look on his face.


    Kyle approached and could hear them talking in loud voices Neil appeared to be totally incensed while Raith had a shit eating grin on his face. Kyle knew they were trying to anger Neil into doing something so Kyle would step in if necessary.


    "You know I think after I win this tournament I''ll have my father arrange an engagement with the young lady of the Tor family, you like her don''t you Neil can you tell me how she likes to be touched?"


    Raith was antagonising Neil by saying things about the girl he liked. Willem was standing beside him but didn''t say anything and was instead looking around with a bored look, it looks like this is something Raith does regularly and for Willem it held no interest.


    "What are you saying you animal, how could you imply something like that she isn''t some loose woman!"


    Neil responded with anger while Raith looked to him like he had just found a tasty prey. These 2 were not a good matchup as Neil was hot headed and direct while Raith was cold and manipulative.


    "Well isn''t she from a merchant family I''m sure her daddy will tell her to spread her legs for anyone if the benefits are good enough."


    Raith was saying this with no concern for the Tor family. The youngsters who were around were angry but couldn''t do anything as they knew Raith was stronger than them and the family head couldn''t react without it becoming an issue between the leadership of the families.


    "Your boy has got a very foul mouth hasn''t he?"


    The Tor family head said to Edith, who simply glanced his way before looking away without even bothering to respond to him. While he may not be able to stand against the Powell or Black families one on one he didn''t have any fear of the Tor family.


    Kyle reached the verbal battleground just as Neil was reaching the end of his tether and was about to attack Raith without regard to the consequences. Kyle put his hand on his Cousins bicep which was fully strained as his anger was boiling.


    Looking to who was holding his arm he saw it was Kyle, while Neil may not be the smartest he understood that Kyle was far more intelligent than he was and it would be best if he let Kyle deal with this while puddle of offal.


    "Yo Raith looks like you''re spouting more manure from that face of yours at least look away when you talk we don''t all want to stink like your breath."


    Kyle fired the opening salvo and it was a good hit.


    "Really a brat like you shouldn''t be getting involved in matters of the heart I was simply telling your cousin my intentions for his beloved."


    Raith shot back but he lacked any truly strong ammo in this engagement and he was also cautious of Kyle as he didn''t know much about him.


    "Really matters of the heart, well I haven''t had to pay any of the girls I like to spend time with me as they do that of their own volition so if you need guidance just ask V-man."


    Kyle responded with a proper pimp slap which left Raith red faced, Kyle''s girls were all a little embarrassed when they heard him talking about them but couldn''t refute what he had said even if there was a little innuendo slotted in there.


    "What do you mean by V-man, I''ll have you know I''ve had many women. More than a kid like you can imagine."


    "Well I suppose if you pay for it, it still counts but are you sure you should be comparing sexual experiences with an eleven year old that just comes off as pathetic. I just have to check you aren''t compensating for something are you, can''t get it up or maybe it''s a little on the small side."


    As Kyle said this he held up his little finger and looked at it with a sad expression. Raith was beginning to lose his cool as he listened to Kyle''s words. He couldn''t help but let Kyle finish his sentences before he tried to counter but he could feel he was losing.


    "Come on Willem let''s go we don''t need to speak to the likes of them."


    "Careful Raith, Willem can''t use his dominant hand to help you out."

 119 Chapter 119 Little women

    "Careful Raith, Willem can''t use his dominant hand to help you out."


    Raith almost fell over when he heard this and turned to Kyle with a furious look as if he wanted to eat him alive. Willem didn''t seem to know what to do or where to look and ended up seemingly staring into space while wishing he could be on a beach somewhere.


    The whole crowd on hearing this further exchange between these youths burst out laughing once again and thought that even if they had to pay to come and see this it would have been worth it, at the high table Leonard, Landon and the head of the Tor family had given up and were laughing uproariously while Maria and Gemma had red faces.


    Maria was far redder than Gemma as it was her son who had said these things and with how stuck up the nobility could be in this world she found it shameful. Edith and the imperial overseer both had red faces again one due to anger and the other due to containing his own laughter.


    Kyle''s girls were also having different reactions, Clara was holding in her laughter while Miranda looked confused and Elena was well Elena. Wondering why everyone was laughing so much Miranda decided to ask in her own innocent way.


    "Clara why is everyone laughing like that and why does Raith look so angry?"


    Unfortunately it was Elena who responded to this as Clara was still trying to get herself under control.


    "Well Miranda if you understand what is meant by innuendo Kyle has double layered this insult, in the first place he could mean that Willem can''t help Raith with his day to day as his arm is injured but the secondary meaning is that Willem can''t help Raith jacko..Ouch why did you hit me on the back of the head Clara?"


    Clara who couldn''t control her laughter did hear the clinical way Elena was explaining what Kyle had intended to Miranda but even though Miranda had more information about sexual dealings there were some things that Clara thought she wasn''t ready to be corrupted by yet.


    "This isn''t a proper thing for ladies to discuss in public okay?"


    "Oh okay then I''ll explain it when we get home later then Miranda."


    Hearing Elena''s response Clara could only sigh and lament her place in life, she felt she was becoming Elena''s keeper but the only one who could truly control her was Kyle.


    For his part Kyle could see what was happening with his girls and found this hilarious, just imagine if everyone knew that Elena''s true form was something stronger than a god which has existed since before the creation of this universe and there she was being berated by a twelve year old girl.


    Kyle began laughing when he thought of this and Raith on seeing Kyle laughing became further enraged before he shouted at him.


    "I''ll kill you!"


    With that he moved to strike Kyle but was immediately stopped by the referee who was standing nearby because he was expecting something to kick off. Raith shook off the ref before turning in a huff and left the area. Willem looked at Kyle with a complicated gaze before he left with his brother.


    Neil who had calmed down when he saw Raith get pwned by Kyle patted his shoulder in gratitude before he returned to his seat with a wide smile on his face with Clyde and Archie also sporting wide grins making it look like three Cheshire cats were sitting there.


    After this debacle the matches continued until it came to the final of the intermediate, once again Kyle and Bruno were facing each other but this time Kyle stepped out before Bruno could quit. When they sat back down Bruno looked towards Kyle and asked him.


    "Why did you back out you can beat me without any problem?"


    "Simple we ride together and die together."


    Kyle said this with a fully straight face while hoping he wouldn''t get in trouble from some higher power for plagiarism. When Bruno heard this he felt a lump in his throat and quickly looked away so no one could see the tear in his eye. It looked like the bromance had levelled up once again.


    Finally it was time for the senior bracket to begin, in this round Archie and Neil could finally show their strengths. The major difference in this round would be the increased number of fights which involved weapons as these contenders with stronger cultivation bases could use skills involving their weapons more easily than those younger than them could.


    Kyle knowing this had his smiths prepare blunted weapons of their preference which had been dispatched to the overseer''s mansion prior to the tournament so they could be inspected before they could take them up for this round of battle.


    Kyle obviously had queued up his favourite katana while Bruno being the beast of his team had a double headed war hammer and like in their previous training Neil had a pole axe and Archie had a great axe. All of these weapons were unusual but to everyone''s eye Kyle''s was by far the strangest as it was the smallest.


    They had their respective weapons brought out in preparation for this round and received several strange looks but they just dismissed them. The other members of the Black and Powell families who would be taking part in this round also had weapons but they had stuck with the boring great swords.


    Archie was first up and his battle would use weapons, Kyle wanted to see how Archie would do in this fight because they had been working together to create his axe fighting style. Kyle wasn''t aware of any axe fighting arts in his previous world so he had altered a stick fighting technique to suit. The major difference in fighting with an axe in this style was that the shaft was used far more than you would expect it to be so the shaft was made from an alloy of adamantine, iron and zinc which made it incredibly tough but also had some shock absorbing qualities.


    Stepping to their starting positions Archie looked at his opponent who was using the pro rata great sword. At the go from the referee Archie and his opponent rushed to each other, the enemy raised his sword above his head and delivered a crushing downward blow.


    Archie shifted his hold on his axe and swung around with the weighted end of his axe hitting the side of the blade directing it to his right side. With his left arm holding the shaft and being higher than his right arm he was in prime position to return a diagonal strike to his opponent, so pulling his left hand down and across his body while bringing his right arm over he swung his axe with massive speed and force.


    His enemy on seeing the axe head coming towards him dropped all pretence of defence and immediately disengaged and moved clear. As the axe was swung the wind noise showed just how much force was behind that strike.


    Rushing forward Archie swung a wide lateral strike forcing his enemy to move further back before he tried to retaliate with a rising strike. Archie simply used his foot to kick the side of the blade turning it aside again and used the end of the shaft to slam into his enemy''s chest.


    The crowd were shocked seeing the strength and speed of this axe and the style of fighting were far more fluid than what they had been aware of. The changes of strike from the blade to the base were shocking but this was still a heavy and brutal weapon so there was a limit to what could be done with it.


    Kyle was thinking that it would be an interesting fight between Archie and Neil as they hadn''t fought against each other using weapons during their training as Kyle wanted to pressure them so they could develop a style of their own.


    Archie''s opponent didn''t give up even though that strike had hurt him and instead drew his sword up and charged mana into it before swinging the blade down releasing what appeared to be a sword wave from the apex of the swing.


    As the wave moved forward it increased in size and by the time it reached Archie it was over eight feet in length and scored the ground as it passed over it.


    Archie didn''t panic as this wave approached and instead used a skill Kyle had taught all of them, pushing his mana into the axe blade Archie controlled it to form a skin of mana over the blade and when the sword wave was on him he waved his axe in another lateral swing but this time the mana was released at the apex.


    Unlike the sword wave Archie''s strike was much smaller. Everyone who saw this thought it would be overpowered by the sword wave but when they made contact the sword wave was broken with a bang and Archie''s axe pulse continued on at a much faster speed than the sword wave.


    His opponent didn''t have time to do anything other than to place his sword in front of him in an attempt to defend against this attack. When the axe pulse hit the sword blade the enemy couldn''t stop the force and ended up getting blasted away with the axe pulse.


    When the pulse reached the edge of the ring the opponent carried on through while the mana was halted by the barrier although it did make an almighty crash when it hit. This axe pulse was very similar to the sword wave except the mana was far more condensed allowing it to travel faster and if it hit it would be far stronger.


    The opponent slid across the floor of the arena before sliding to a stop in front of Kyle and Bruno who ended up looking down at him. As he recovered his consciousness he couldn''t help but ask.


    "What happened?"


    Bruno responded to this with his usual aplomb.


    "You got knocked the hell out."

 120 Chapter 120 Corrupting the youngsters

    "You got knocked the hell out."


    The contender gradually stood up with Kyle and Bruno''s help while he was holding his chest looking still to be in pain Archie who was still standing in the arena saluted to him which the contender returned before thanking Bruno and Kyle and returning to his seat.


    Archie stepped down from the arena and also returned to his seat next to Neil who greeted him.


    "That was great but why didn''t you beat him earlier?"


    Neil asked with confusion as with their current strength Neil or Archie could defeat someone at that level in only a couple of moves. Archie thought for a moment before he responded.


    "He was honourable so I didn''t wish to disgrace him."


    Neil was a blunter individual who while honest couldn''t understand nuance while Archie had a calmer understanding of the human psyche and didn''t want to cause his opponent unnecessary pain or humiliation.


    Neil thought about this and felt that what Archie was saying sounded profound but when he looked at Raith his anger boiled so he asked the question on his mind.


    "Would you give the same courtesy to that maggot?"


    Neil indicated in the direction of Raith, Archie on seeing where Neil was indicating had a small cold smile on his face and responded simply.


    "I said my opponent was honourable that piece of offal is anything but."


    Neil was satisfied with this and was happy again. The tournament marched on with the contenders vying with each other Kyle and Neil also won their matches. An unusual thing happened during Bruno''s match however as when he went up he surrendered before a single blow was struck.


    When Bruno returned under the boos and jeers of the crowd Kyle looked at him with curiosity and seemed to be waiting for an explanation. Bruno looked at Kyle in all seriousness and spoke his thoughts.


    "I know what may happen today and I don''t want to risk not having enough mana to protect the people I care about in the coming conflict."


    While saying this quietly he looked to Alena and knew he couldn''t risk her safety just to continue in this tournament. This wasn''t an option for Kyle as he needed to fight for as long as possible to maintain the honour of his parents, if he stepped down early people may think he was a coward which would adversely affect his parents standing.


    Respecting Bruno''s choice Kyle didn''t comment while the others on their bench also held a certain respect for Bruno at this moment. Archie was up again against another no name contender who only exchanged a few moves before he retired leaving Archie as the winner.


    Finally an interesting battle was coming up; this was between Neil and Raith. These two hated each other with a passion and the crowd was looking forward to this battle. At the choice of battle type Archie opted for weapons while unusually Raith opted for unarmed so a coin toss ensued while they stared at each with fire in their eyes.


    Neil won the coin toss so it was a weapon battle; Kyle noticed the disappointment in Raith''s eyes when he lost the call. This piqued Kyle''s interest as why would Raith want to fight without weapons unless he was planning something which would be to Neil''s detriment.


    There were a few reasons Kyle could think of as to why Raith would want to fight unarmed but the two most prominent in his eyes would be either to cheat somehow or if he had a specific skill which needed to be used without a weapon.


    There were a few skills like this but as far as Kyle was aware there was no reason to specifically aim to use these kinds of skills as you could get a similar or better effect if you used a skill with a weapon instead.


    There was no point in thinking about it too much so Kyle simply waited for the match to begin. Neil had his pole axe which like Archie''s great axe had the shaft reinforced but in accordance to Neil''s wishes the blade was in a crescent moon shape and extended an entire third of the weapon.


    As they were preparing to fight Neil''s eyes lit up as at the entrance to the venue he saw his father and other uncle had arrived. Harris was Neil''s father while James was Clyde''s, they entered the venue and rather than take a seat with their clansmen they instead sat near the entrance.


    Ever since Kyle had become involved with the running of the family Harris had stepped back and didn''t get involved in the affairs of the family even though he was supposed to be in charge of the guards in the family.


    James on the other hand dealt largely with the families businesses so spent a great deal of his time out in the city and only returned to the estate occasionally. Clyde didn''t have a very good relationship with his father because he spent so much of his time out and didn''t spend hardly any time with him or his mother. Clyde also thought that his father may be having an affair but he hadn''t asked Kyle to look into it as he feared to know the truth.


    Landon saw his brothers arrive but also saw they had no interest in joining with the family to enjoy this event. He knew a gulf was growing between them and this was largely due to the poisoning of Kyle and the knowledge that the most likely suspect for this was one of his brothers as they had the best opportunity to administer the poison.


    While everyone else was thinking about their family issues, Kyle simply smiled as he thought to himself ''all the players are here now, let''s see how this plays out''. Kyle believed one of these uncles was the traitor and probably pulled the other along today to instil fear into them so they could take control once Landon and Kyle were dealt with.


    On the stage Neil and Raith were waiting for the go from the referee, Raith was using a bastard sword in this match s he would be a bit faster than if he used a great sword. Neil was moving his pole axe around agitatedly while waiting for the match to begin; he was itching to pound Raith after what he had said previously.


    "Begin."


    The referee didn''t even wait a second before he ran outside of the ring as he had seen how these young men had been looking at each other and he knew this would be a vicious fight between them.


    Neil moved first and faster than Raith, but rather than run straight in he came at him from Raith''s 2 o''clock. This forced Raith to reposition himself to receive the strike cleanly, while Neil may not be the smartest in the world he was a good instinctive fighter and he could tell that Raith wasn''t good with his footwork so by forcing him to move would be his best tactic.


    Striking hard and fast Neil knocked Raith back several steps, Raith hadn''t had a chance to brace himself properly before Neil had struck and due to lack of stability from having his feet to close together he stumbled a bit.


    Neil quickly followed up with a couple of swift diagonal strikes keeping Raith off balance. Neil''s way of using the pole axe was a bit different than Kyle originally expected as he used the whole length of the weapon to his advantage.


    By gripping behind the axe head where the crescent came down it would almost act like a short blade but when he wanted a powerful strike he would hold further down so he could get a more powerful swing.


    Raith couldn''t keep up with the rapidly changing form of battle and was wholly defensive at this point and started pushing his man into his blade to try and force a change of pace.


    Neil also began channelling his mana into his weapon and the pace stayed exactly the same. Raith was being pushed all over the ring by Neil. For Neil''s part he was getting annoyed as he was dominating Raith but he was continuously retreating so he couldn''t land a decisive blow against him.


    Moving in again Neil was ready to strike out but suddenly Raith dropped his weapon, this made Neil freeze for a second and in this second Raith lashed out to his chest. His hand was covered in a putrid green mana which exuded a vile feeling.


    The strike impacted on Neil''s chest that was knocked away by the strike but the mana from the strike remained on his chest and seemed to be seeping through his clothes. Neil''s face became pale and he tried to remain standing but fell to his knee.


    "Neil retire right now!"


    This was Kyle who shouted out; he had seen this strike and saw that the mana contained was somehow corrupted. He had seen something similar when his teams had cleared out some of the cults. It was something like a mana poison or parasite which would convert the mana in the opponent''s body and gradually kill them.


    This was extremely painful and difficult to treat. Kyle had managed to find a way to drive out this corruption but if it was left for too long the physical damage would take months or even years to repair even with Kyle''s technique due to the damage affecting the soul realm rather than the flesh.


    On hearing Kyle''s shout Neil immediately quit but Raith continued approaching him with a vile grin on his face and his hand glowing with that same putrid green glow. The referee wanted to halt the match but was scared to approach so he simply called out the result.


    "Winner Raith of the Miles family."


    Raith seemed to ignore him and continued to approach Neil.


    *Shing*


    Suddenly there was a flash and Kyle was standing in front of Neil with his katana drawn in a mid-stance looking at Raith coldly. Seeing the expression on Kyle''s face almost everyone was scared and thought Raith was about to die.


    Well everyone except one of the guards who was looking at his side where he had been holding Kyle''s katana but all he had left was the sheath and he hadn''t even noticed when or how Kyle had taken it.


    "Oh shizzle."

 121 Chapter 121 How not to street figh

    "Oh shizzle."


    "Elena it''s not the time." Responded Clara with a visible sigh, as they continued to watch the drama on the stage one of their guards opened a bag he was carrying and took out some wrapped objects and tapped them in their shoulders before handing these parcels to the.


    Elena, Clara, Miranda and Alena didn''t seem surprised at this and instead placed these parcels on their laps while the guard first moved to the high table and passed parcels to Maria, Landon and Leonard.


    This Santa Claus imposter then moved over to the participant''s area and gave parcels to Bruno, Clyde and Archie. No one was paying attention to this faceless guard as their focus was fully on the stage where Kyle was facing off against Raith.


    Kyle was still standing between Raith and Neil with his sword drawn and ready to attack Raith. The sword in his hand didn''t move or even twitch and was as stable and steady as a rock. Raith was afraid to move for a minute before he slowly stepped back a couple of paces.


    "So you want to interfere with my match do you?"


    Raith wanted to put this on the Powell family so he decided it would be best to play the victim for now.


    "Yes I will interfere, if scum like you wants to use some cult skills against my family I''ll simply have to cut off your junk and turn you into a girl."


    Kyle responded before he lowered his sword indicating where he would make his cut. Raith felt a little breeze down there and realised Kyle truly meant what he said.


    "You can''t threaten me in front of this crowd and my family!"


    "Oh why not you showed that skill without worrying about the consequences so everyone knows of your connection to the cults now."


    The crowd began murmuring and whispering as they had seen the skill Raith had used and many of them were aware of the skills the corrupted cults used and also the damage they could cause to people. Once this knowledge began spreading within the crowd the mood became strange and if this continued on Raith was liable to be lynched before any fight could ensue.


    While Kyle and Raith were facing off Harris had been moving closer to the ring, but with the crush of bodies near the ring he struggled to get through and was close to attacking those closest to him so he could reach his son.


    Kyle could see him from his vantage point on the ring and before Harris could blow his top suddenly called out.


    "Let my Uncle through he needs to check on his son."


    The people could follow Kyle''s eye line and seeing Harris made way for him letting him get to the ring in quick fashion. Harris rushed over to Neil and began checking his pulse and his eyes. Neil pulse was irregular and his eyes showed no reaction.


    He stood slowly before he turned around in a mechanical fashion and drew a small blade from his sleeve. This blade was one of Kyle''s products which were sold through Mike and Kelly''s store, on seeing this blade and the way Harris was looking at him Raith realised he had fully ballsed up this time.


    With his father''s plan he believed the upper echelon of the Powell family would fall into line during the attack before they completely annihilated them at their leisure. Now with this new conflict Harris would never side with them and would instead do everything in his power to destroy him.


    As Harris was bracing himself to attack Edith used a skill to reach the stage pulling Raith away and confronting Harris directly.


    "Be calm Harris this is a battle between the younger generation, do not force my hand in this."


    "Force your hand? Your son has killed mine I will remove that cancer from this world even if I have to give my life to do it!"


    Finally Harris was showing his true self, he was a devoted dad but after the death of his beloved wife he had fully thrown himself into his work to lessen the pain unfortunately this had caused an estrangement between himself and his son.


    This was also the reason he had recently seemed to hate Kyle because it appeared as though Kyle was taking his place which had become his only identity and with the loss of this he felt himself becoming nothing more than a ghost.


    However faced with the possible loss of his son all other concerns became irrelevant and all he wanted was to be a father once again. As they were preparing for battle another figure entered the ring.


    This was Kyle''s second uncle James the father of Clyde, when the people saw this they felt glad that Harris had some backup for this fight as the Miles family would now be vilified by the people of the city due to their connection with the cults.


    Against their expectation James stood with Edith, the crowd was shocked once more by this development. Why would James stand with the Miles family over his own kin, what was happening the crowd wondered while looking between the ring and the high stage to see Landon''s reaction?


    Landon didn''t look angry instead he looked sad and older than he had seemed only moments before. Slowly standing Landon flashed away before appearing next to his brother carrying his parcel that was delivered by the guard earlier.


    Seeing Landon on the stage Edith and James became cautious before James snapped his fingers and from within the crowd 2 great swords were thrown onto the stage. This must have been from some of James'' subordinates which had smuggled these weapons into the arena much like Kyle''s guard had done.


    Whilst the adults were facing off against each other Kyle moved away and approached Neil, taking his wrist Kyle dragged Neil further away and quickly treated him cleansing the corrupted mana from his system and bringing him around quickly.


    "What happened? I head you call out but couldn''t do anything."


    Neil asked when he had regained his consciousness; he looked around him and his eyes settled on the stage and he saw his father standing there with tears running down his face. As he spoke Bruno, Clyde and Archie approached while from the crowd a young woman broke free and rushed up before hugging Neil while crying.


    This was the young lady of the Tor family and it looked like Neil already had a place in her heart for her to react like this.


    "Simply put Raith used a skill from the cults and poisoned you, your father came for revenge and Uncle James has revealed himself as the traitor."


    Kyle answered in the simplest way possible before looking to the stage. With the forces currently arrayed the Miles family wouldn''t have a chance so he was expecting Edith to commence the attack soon and he wasn''t disappointed.


    Edith took a crystal from his pocket and raised it to the sky, seeing this Landon began moving but before he could even take a step the crystal glowed brightly before launching into the sky and exploding in a flash of light.


    This must have been the signal to attack as from the imperial mansion many people began appearing. Most of these people were wearing the cloaks that the cult members wore while from the surrounding streets gangs began top spill forth.


    This was turning into a complete fur ball and Kyle needed to get his people out of the area before they became swamped. Even though Kyle''s people were individually stronger than most of the enemies they were now completely outnumbered and with having to maintain order in their territory the only people he prepared were his ''death guard'' so taking out the signal stone for Ash he immediately used it.


    Landon and Harris had already engaged Edith and James and had already begun to push them back when their reinforcements began to appear. Pushing them back Landon and Harris pulled back, Harris looked ready to jump in straight away when a voice pulled his attention away.


    "Uncle Harris don''t throw your life away your son need''s you."


    Hearing Kyle''s voice Harris turned back and saw his son already standing while being supported by a young lady. Disregarding anything he rushed over leaving Landon on his own facing 2 opponents. Drawing his son into a crushing embrace Harris spoke to him.


    "I thought I lost you, without your mother you are the only thing I care about."


    "Its okay dad Kyle fixed me now we need to spank some bitches."


    Hearing his son Harris broke his embrace before turning to Kyle unsure of what to say. Kyle seeing this simply grinned before speaking.


    "Don''t worry we''re family now we need to get clear so we can counter attack."


    As he was speaking Landon was fighting James and Edith looking at ease and easily knocking them back, on seeing this Harris was shocked as he knew Landon''s strength should be similar to Edith and only slightly stronger than James but he was toying with them.


    "Dad stop screwing around the civilians will get injured if we play about."


    Hearing this Landon became disappointed but used a mana blast to knock Edith and James away giving them space to approach their compatriots who were currently engaged in combat with the reinforcements who had come from behind.


    Maria and Gemma were using magic to blast away their enemies and Leonard was busy throwing people at the walls while laughing like a maniac. The imperial overseer was long gone, probably hiding in his mansion by now.


    The cult people were gradually approaching but were on the opposite side of the arena so they had to cut their way through the sea of people in their way. At this point Ash and his force appeared into the fray.


    It was chaos with the civilians running every which way and three large forces appearing from different locations. As per the plan the ''death watch'' had been placed in the alchemist''s guild which was the closest of the buildings to the ring so they could approach faster than the cultists could.


    While all this was happening a few people saw Kyle''s girls and Alena fighting alongside the guards. These girls were scary Clara would attack wherever she could with fierceness and speed while Elena simply out powered her opponents. Miranda was probably the scariest however as she fought like Kyle using whatever means were available but the thing that scared people was she apologised as she beat them down.


    Kyle was surveying the area looking for a route out but with the gangs coming from the street and the cultists coming from the mansion they were now boxed in. Deciding now was the time he pulled out another signal stone from his pocket and activated it.


    As the fighting intensified the cultists were getting closer Kyle took to the frontline alongside Bruno and Ash. They fought as a team and were eventually joined by Kyle''s parents and their girls. The black family had formed their own unit as once they broke out they needed to get to their territory and take command.


    It was at this point the screech of a falcon was heard followed by the words which now would forever be immortalised.


    "Yolo bitches!"

 122 Chapter 122 Wheres Willem

    "Yolo bitches!"


    As this battle cry not known in this world descended upon the battlefield it caused a lull in the fighting. This cry was made using a trick Kyle had discovered; he didn''t call it a skill because it was simply enhancing your voice with mana so it could be heard clearly over a wide area without having to be louder.


    A young child, who was being carried by their mother while running from the cultists and gangs, looked around trying to find the source before talking to their mother who had also paused in her escape.


    "Mommy who or what was that?"


    "I don''t know dear but if you see who it is don''t get anywhere near them, someone like that can only be a bad influence."


    Returning to Kyle and his group who had also disengaged from their fight for a moment once the voice was heard. Kyle''s father looked at him with an accusing gaze while Kyle was pinching the bridge of his nose as if he had a migraine.


    "Kyle who was that?" Landon questioned but it seemed as though he knew who it was.


    "Look it''s not my fault she heard my plan and wouldn''t stop bugging me about it so I thought that would be the best place for her."


    Kyle responded while everyone near them was looking at them, there was a knowing look in their eyes as there were only a few people who could cause them to act like this and Elena was already with them.


    "Here comes Suzy!"


    Yes it was of course Susan Alvarez, Maria''s master and newly appointed general in charge of battlefield chaos and crazy. She was on the back of her falcon followed by another 2 falcons being ridden by members of ''steel lotus'', but they seemed to be trying to disappear into their falcons because of embarrassment.


    If it wasn''t for Susan this would have been a really bad ass moment with 3 giant falcons descending from the clouds with ninja maids riding them but of course the image was ruined now. As they were sweeping down they closed in on the rear ranks of the group of gangs which were blocking in Kyle''s group and preventing the civilians escaping.


    Susan reached into a small bag on her side and took out a handful of stones with arrays etched over them; her actions were mirrored by the 2 members of ''steel lotus''. As they were above the rear of the gangs all three charged mana into the stones before throwing them out.


    These stones fell to the ground around the gangs and as they hit the ground there was a sudden series of *BOOMS* wherever they struck. This was something Kyle had been working on since the rescue of the women of the Miles family from their incarceration.


    By specifically creating a flawed self charging array Kyle had essentially created a grenade. These one were specifically made so that they could be thrown and would detonate on impact. He chose to use them for what was essentially a bombing run rather than using magic as the distance dropping these mana grenades could be greater than if they fired spells at the enemy.


    The result was immediate and impressive; while the explosive force wasn''t all that powerful the concussive force disrupted and disoriented the nearest people. There was very little in the way of shrapnel due to the explosive being on the surface rather than within but it meant there was little chance of collateral damage.


    With the lines of the gangs being weakened Landon led the charge to breakthrough followed closely by Kyle with everyone else following in a loose wedge formation. As they moved they pulled the civilians behind their line so they could follow them out.


    The cultist were still trying to catch up to them but after making her first run Susan and her team swung around to begin a bombing run against the cultists. Edith and the overseer were standing away from the main battlefield and undercover to avoid Susan''s attacks.


    "What is happening? Where did all these people come from and why are there people mounted on flying beasts?"


    The overseer was furious after years of careful planning and conniving they had finally decided to make their move but everything they had attempted was falling apart in moments. They still had a few cards to play but he didn''t want to show everything he had until he had to.


    Edith was also shocked by this development, he had no idea the Powell and Black families had this kind of force at their disposal. With the cultists and gangs on their side they should have been able to defeat them with sheer numbers but the tables hadn''t just been turned, someone had instead picked up the table and smashed it over his head.


    Raith was approaching them while avoiding the crowd and the various fights which were still occurring. Even if the civilians were not as strong or as vicious as the gangs or the cultists almost everyone was a cultivator at one level or another and would fight to protect themselves.


    This battlefield was a beautiful mess with no organised lines or plan it would just a crush of people with the only semblance of order being with Kyle''s people. The gangs were all operating independently of each other and the cultists just seemed to be going wherever they could see some juicy prey.


    There were only a few gangs and merc groups which were directly in the control of the Miles family the rest had caught wind of potential looting and slave opportunities and had simply turned up. The miles family hadn''t included their merc forces in this battle as they needed them for the aftermath but it looked as though the fighting would take longer as the Powell family was about to break free.


    "Raith are you injured and where is your brother?"


    "I''m fine father but I don''t know where Willem is, I don''t remember seeing him since before my fight."


    "Hum you''re right where is he?"


    Edith began to survey the battlefield looking for his youngest son. He was a in a stone atrium which was a little higher than the general grounds so he had a bit of an overview of the whole area. Looking around he finally spotted Willem with a couple of guards heading towards the rear of Kyle''s group.


    "Look there he is. Is he planning on attacking them with so few guards?"


    Edith looked aghast at this because if his youngest son died in this battle he would only have Raith left to helm the family. Edith hadn''t told anyone this but he believed Willem would be more suited to inherit the family as Raith was too caught up in his debauchery to lead. Raith also saw this and a slow grin spread on his face, if his stupid brother got himself killed he would definitely inherit his father''s title.


    Back to Kyle who was pushing through the lines and was only a little away from getting clear. Sensing someone approaching from behind Kyle swung around with his blade held at shoulder height and laying flat ready to stab forward into an enemy''s throat.


    Willem was standing there with a strange curved sabre in his hand with 2 young guards flanking him. Kyle''s people also noticed the situation, Clara and Bruno disengaged from their fights ready to back up Kyle if he needed it while the rest continued to push their way through.


    Kyle didn''t seem surprised to see Willem behind him and simply said to him.


    "Is it time?"


    "Yes let''s get this done."


    With that Kyle approached Willem; Edith who was watching from the distance gripped the pommel of his sword as he knew his son couldn''t win this fight after seeing his strength during the tournament.


    Once they were close everyone was expecting the swing of a blade and burst of blood, instead what they saw was Kyle grip Willem''s hand in a handshake before Willem joined his group to almost everyone''s surprise.


    Edith was shocked on seeing this and shouted out in a voice boosted by his mana making the volume loud unlike Kyle''s trick.


    "You traitor why would you do this."


    Willem looked back to his father before using the same trick Susan had used when she entered the battlefield.


    "Because of how you treated my mother and sister."


    The relationship between Willem and Kyle started just after their first argument in Mike and Kelly''s store. Willem was out in his family''s territory, he didn''t have any guards with him on this occasion as he had snuck out. He had been thinking about the things Kyle had said and felt there was something he was missing.


    While he was out he had noticed Kyle from the distance, why was a child of the Powell family alone in his territory? Deciding to follow him Willem had tried to remain unnoticed but with Kyle''s abilities he had picked up on him in mere moments so while going around a corner Kyle had leapt up to a shuttered window and hung there waiting for Willem to approach.


    When Willem came around the corner Kyle caught him quickly and moved away with him. Once he reached a safe area Kyle had begun to question him, it quickly became apparent that Willem was being manipulated by his father and his personal perversions hence why Willem said the things he did.


    Kyle wanted to help this kid who was for all intents and purposes being abused, so what followed was regular meetings between the two with Kyle getting details about the Miles family and Willem learning a different perspective which showed him how screwed his world view was prior.


    Eventually the knowledge of his sister, mother and the other women of his family came to light. This filled Willem with righteous anger but Kyle persuaded him to be his inside man. Willem spent his time with the other youngsters of his family teaching them to look at things from his perspective but the other members of his family believed he was indoctrinating them to his camp for the fight between heirs.


    Finally Willem had managed to gather enough information about his mother''s prison to stage a breakout. If it wasn''t for his father being so focused on his plan Willem wouldn''t have been able to get these details from the array masters within his family.


    When Kyle and Willem meant at the match Kyle hadn''t insulted, instead what he had whispered to him was.


    "They''re safe now look angry and take a swing at me."


    Back to the present Kyle had Willem join Ash on his side while they continued the battle. Kyle had decided he had enough of this and turned back to Edith with a visible smile on his face and took a larger signal stone from his pocket. Edith had seen him use these before the other forces had joined and feared what would happen now.


    "What are you going to do?"


    "Surprise mother fudger."

 123 Chapter 123 A mad dash

    "Surprise mother fudger."


    This larger than usual signal stone began glowing with a bluish white light which projected straight up drawing the attention of everyone on sight and even some people outside of the battleground.


    The glow from the signal stone grew in brightness before suddenly cutting off. The silence that followed this was heavy as everyone was looking around expecting something big to happen. Nothing was immediately apparent so Edith breathed a sigh of relief which was echoed by the imperial overseer.


    Kyle''s people were all waiting ready for combat to resume while the gangs were looking around cautiously, suddenly one of the gang members shouted while pointing towards the east.


    "What the hell is that?!"


    This exclamation drew everyone''s attention and they looked where this bandit was pointing. A giant glowing array seemed to be floating in mid air while being surrounded by what looked like heat haze.


    This haze grew in length with visible speed before another array began to glow along its path followed by another and another. They were located in the centre of the city so as more of these arrays appeared they could see them and that the city was surrounded.


    Edith was looking at this with shock, was this some kind of attack? He had some knowledge of arrays like most people in the empire but these arrays meant nothing to them as the glyphs within them were different than the type he had seen before.


    The imperial overseer also saw these and although he didn''t know what these arrays were for he knew the glyphs were from the ancient empire that had created the array and alchemy systems they still used today.


    In the imperial capital where the overseer was taught they had greater access to historical knowledge than those at the border had, so he could tell these glyphs would also be more powerful than their contemporary counterparts and with the size of them he was afraid of the implication.


    Deciding discretion was the best course of action at this point he retreated into his manor house, Edith saw the overseer scurrying away like a rat and decided it would be best if he followed so grabbing Raith he also entered the manor with some of his guards.


    The cultists also saw this transpire so one of the higher ranked members present on sight began issuing commands.


    "Disengage, grab any heathens on the way and head straight for the safe zone."


    With that the cultist bolted away from Kyle and his people while grabbing any healthy or injured civilians they could in their way. This left only the people on Kyle''s side and the gangs still present and ready to battle.


    The gangs were still watching the surroundings with looks of amazement and shock, gradually the glyphs lost their glow and the haze dispersed. What was left was the city walls Kyle had reconstructed with the bastions which were also visible now.


    Kyle wanted to do this so as to cause as much confusion and fear as he could within the enemies and suddenly having giant shielded walls appearing out of thin air would be the epitome of shock and awe.


    The gangs still hadn''t moved so Kyle issued his orders to his people while the enemy was still distracted.


    "Wind spells to clear blast us a path; civilians follow behind us once we are in the open return to your homes. Everyone get moving NOW!"


    With that Kyle''s people began moving forwards again. Those who had trained in wind magic began using concentrated blast creating a wedge which blasted away the enemy opening up a path out of the kill zone.


    They rushed through this path as the gangs began to recover but even with the opening made Kyle''s people didn''t stop their mana attacks which they were using to keep the gangs away from the civilians.


    They reached several streets away and the civilians began to run away presumably back to their homes to lock themselves away until after the battles had past. Leonard and his family got close to Kyle at this point.


    "Kyle I need to return to my territory to take command."


    Leonard had several guards with them so Kyle thought they would be safe getting back to their territory plus Leonard himself was powerful in his own right.


    "Okay Uncle Leo keep safe."


    With that Leonard clasped hands with Landon before leading his family back to their territory; luckily he had already been warned that something may happen during the tournament so he had left Ruby at home.


    A little while later the leader of the tor family approached them, Kyle wasn''t sure when they had joined them but it wasn''t a bad thing as he could see that lord Tor''s daughter was still with Neil sending gazes at him now and again to make sure he was okay.


    "Young lord Kyle I also need to return to my territory."


    Kyle looked at the Tor''s guards and they were looking worse for wear. They had been caught in a fight with the cultists and had several injured men with them.


    "Okay but take some men with you. Neil I need you to take a detachment and make sure they get home safe."


    "No problem cousin I''ll see it happens."


    Harris saw his son and wanted to say something but was cut off by Kyle.


    "I know you want to stay with him but he''ll be fine and we have work to do, can you put your feelings aside for the moment so we can sort out this disaster."


    Harris on hearing Kyle''s words took a deep breath before looking at Kyle with a grateful look.


    "Of course nephew, we need to ensure our people''s safety first."


    This was the Harris that Landon remembered, when he had first taken leadership of the family Harris was his right hand man and none dared question his loyalty but over time a distance had grown between them. Landon thought this was due to him being the family head and Harris having to report to him but now he wondered if this was because of James'' influence.


    "Welcome back Harris."


    Landon said while giving his brother a hug. Kyle and Maria were watching this before Kyle shook his head.


    "We can kiss and make up later but for now GET MOVING!"


    Everyone began running again so as to not get caught by the gangs, as they were moving into their territory they saw running battles all over. As they passed an area they would strike out at the attackers helping the guards.


    Gradually their numbers swelled as the guards they helped joined their rush. In some places they saw members of ''shadow hand'' fighting the enemy gangs. Some of the guards were ready to attack them but were stopped by Kyle''s people.


    "They are fighting the enemy leave them be."


    Was the stock statement that Kyle''s people gave, until these people had been brought within the fold they wouldn''t let them know what forces they had at their disposal.


    The damage that had been done within their territory while extensive seemed to be mostly property damage with very few injured civilians. ''Shadow hand'' had been given certain task one of which was to help the guards protect the civilians.


    There were a few noticeable buildings which hadn''t been damaged, these were safe houses used by ''shadow hand'' or businesses and buildings Kyle had openly taken control of. He had put multiple defensive arrays around these buildings so the gangs couldn''t damage them.


    During the battles the guard captains Kyle had placed in charge of the different units moved the civilians into these protected buildings to keep them safe. Things could be replaced but people couldn''t hence the plan incorporated these shelters.


    Susan and her team were still watching from overhead checking for any ambushes or unexpected occurrences. Once they passed the market they hit the main road leading back to their estate. Waiting at this road were a few dozen steeds being held in place by some members of the ''death watch''.


    Mounting up the speed of their retreat was much faster and they were able to reach the estate in less than 15 minutes from then. The roads were empty at this point so they moved as fast as their steeds could carry them.


    When they got back to the estate Kyle continued onto his bastion with his people, no one was speaking as they were still surprised at how the battle had progresses. It would be no lie to say that when they were surrounded many expected to be killed or at least injured but with all of the aces Kyle had up his sleeve they all came out with only scrapes and bruises.


    When they reached the bastion and dismounted several members rushed off to their next call of duty leaving just a small contingent of people which included Clyde who was looking down.


    Kyle saw Clyde and approached him before placing his hand on his shoulder which made Clyde flinch away.


    "Clyde you aren''t your father, your actions dictate who you are just look at Willem if he followed his father he should be a right prick."


    "Hey!"


    "No offense intended of course."


    Hearing his cousin Clyde finally looked up and saw that his extended family were standing around him giving him their support. Landon put his hand on Clyde''s other shoulder and gave it a squeeze.


    "You''ll be fine just do what you believe is right."


    "Yes uncle and thanks Kyle."


    "No charge."


    Kyle responded with a grin, everyone began to talk about what had happened and everyone was fully in agreement that the rest of the Miles family and the overseer needed to be removed but the cult was the biggest problem right now. While they were talking Willem suddenly remembered something and spoke to Kyle.


    "Um Kyle what about the youngsters from my family, they haven''t done anything wrong can we save them?"


    "No problem, Faye if you would."


    Suddenly from the shadows Faye appeared in her full ninja maid gear making Harris''s eyes bug out.


    "Sir the children in the Miles household have already been liberated, they are now with the female members of their family we extracted prior."


    "What? How did you do that the arrays in the manor should have prevented that?"


    "When we broke in before and damaged the array network in your estate we also created a weakness in the main house. We couldn''t use it when the majority of your family were there but as they are mostly in the city directing the battle a small team managed to get in. We only took the members from the main family as the outer members didn''t seem as corrupt."


    "Thank you Kyle a thousand times thank you."


    Seeing this was all done Harris decided to speak up and find out what the next plan was.


    "Kyle you''ve done a lot to protect the family but what are you planning to do now."


    Kyle looked at everyone who was around him with a smile slowly growing on his face, Susan had just arrived after landing with her falcon and seeing Kyle''s smile grinned herself as she knew what was coming.


    "I''m planning to royally screw them up."

 124 Chapter 124 Everybody hates Susan

    "I''m planning to royally screw them up."


    Everyone who heard this was in agreement with Kyle these douche bags needed to be taken to task for what they were doing to their city and the civilians present within. Landon looked at Harris and issued him some orders.


    "Harris you are going to take command of our family forces, barring Kyle''s forces all the family guards including the elders personal guards are yours to command. Kyle will give you intelligence on the enemy locations and it will be up to you to deal with them."


    "Understood my lord, what will the young lord''s forces be doing if I may ask?"


    Harris was smiling for the first time in Kyle''s memory and he could see a rekindled respect in his eyes for Landon and a new found respect for Kyle. Kyle responded as he could see hesitation on Landon''s face to discuss Kyle''s plans as even he didn''t know them.


    "My forces are specialised so we''ll be operating as a rapid response force. They will remain under my command because I understand their respective strengths and will be best suited to direct them to where they will cause the most damage to the enemy."


    Harris accepted this as he had seen how Kyle''s guards had been able to use magic which they shouldn''t have been able to. With Harris''s acceptance Landon breathed a sigh of relief as this new found harmony was new and untested so he wanted to avoid any cracks appearing in their relationship.


    "Okay let''s take this inside, I want to inspect a map of the city and identify what the current situation is."


    With that Landon led the way inside Kyle''s bastion. Harris hadn''t visited before and was shocked by what he saw, there were people rushing around moving equipment and tools in preparation of the upcoming battle and also to begin gearing up the family guards who haven''t received the armour they had been producing.


    The plan was to begin by issuing this more powerful armour to the guard captains to start with and then issue it squad by squad until they were all adequately armed. They would switch out the armed members with those on the front lines so they wouldn''t lose their fighting force during the change.


    When he was told this Harris was impressed and surprised as this armour was stronger than almost anything else on the market and could be easily sold to any noble house but here they were armouring their guards with this.


    Kyle saw Harris''s shock at his care for the guards as their survivability with this new gear would go through the roof. Kyle merely responded with his simple belief.


    "If you look after your people they will look after you."


    "What do you mean Kyle?"


    Harris asked as he had been raised on the belief of noble privilege and that commoners and guards existed to serve while the nobles ruled them.


    "We are meant to lead not to rule."


    Kyle answered simply as they reached the meeting room which had been turned into a war room with a large map over one wall and on the table was an accurate map of the city with the wall and bastions clearly marked.


    "Is there a representative of ''shadow hand'' around at the moment?"


    Kyle asked Faye as she had taken on the role of his aide recently freeing him from some of his duties along with Zak helping him run his businesses.


    "Yes One is present in the bastion at the moment I''ll go and bring him here."


    With that Faye disappeared into the shadows shocking Harris.


    "No matter how many times I see it that is awesome!"


    Susan who had just entered the room exclaimed when she saw Faye dissolving into the shadow. This would definitely be the next magic branch she studied once she had mastered the one she was currently training in.


    "Hi Susan what does it look like from the air?"


    "Not good there is street to street fighting throughout the city. The gangs are running rampant and outnumber the guards with the cultists popping up here and there. Currently the mercs haven''t begun moving, they''re probably waiting for the gangs to weaken the guards further before they sweep in and secure any loot they''ve plundered."


    Hearing this Kyle''s face took on a dark expression, his first priority was to hit the cultists as they were the most dangerous of the forces arrayed against him but then the question was should he attack the gangs to take the pressure off of the guards or conserve his strength for when the mercs began to move.


    "Okay I''m after opinions, should we hit the gangs or wait for the mercs once we''ve dealt with the cultists."


    Asked Kyle to those with him a few people immediately answered.


    "Hit the gangs." Responded Bruno and Susan as they didn''t really think of the implications because Bruno is a muscle head and Susan is well Susan.


    The others thought about the question for a moment as they knew Kyle wouldn''t ask this if it was as simple as that. Miranda put her hand up in the air after a moment drawing a soft smile from Kyle as this was her sweet and innocent side coming to the front again.


    ??Yes Miranda what do you want to say?"


    "Um well you said to wait for the mercenaries but can''t you push them into the conflict early?"


    Kyle thought about this for a second and realised this would be the best option as before his forces became tired from the fighting they could engage the totality of the enemy forces and with luck the gangs and mercs may even begin fighting amongst themselves for the loot.


    Kyle gave Miranda a quick peck on the lips for her contribution which made her drop her head low with a blushing face, everyone who saw this only had one thought in their heads ''cute!!''.


    "Okay Miranda is right we need to push the mercs to move early."


    As he said this Faye reappeared with One in tow who gave a quick salute to Kyle showing his respect before assuming his position at the table. Seeing One there Harris was cautious as he had received reports about him being the leader of ''shadow hand'' when he thought they were a simple gang.


    "Harris its okay One is the leader of my largest force at the moment and is totally loyal to me."


    One nodded to this but didn''t speak; Kyle had noticed something with his secret and slave seals. The people who chose to follow him like Ash weren''t really affected by them but people who were forced to follow him like One became almost fanatical. Kyle didn''t know the precise reason behind this but suspected it was due to the unique quality of his soul after passing through the chaos realm.


    "Okay One what is the condition of your force?"


    "Currently we''ve lost 23 people, they are all from the new recruits so their strength wasn''t yet up to spec. We have some other injured but they will be fine after some time."


    "Good Faye can you show the location of the cultists currently?"


    "Yes sir they are located here in the old market district in the Miles territory."


    Kyle looked at their location and saw they were specifically based within an old tannery which had shutdown after the beast horde had breached the walls previously and with the Miles family taking command of that area no one had reopened it.


    "Okay this will be a job for the ''death watch'', Ash I want your people ready to move in twenty minutes. Faye see if you can locate the leaders of the remaining merc bands and One continue as you have been, but keep Harris posted as to the situation so he can properly deploy the guards. Anything else from anyone?"


    Everyone shook their heads until Willem decided to ask a question that had been bugging him.


    "Yes I have a question why did you make so much fun of me during the tournament?"


    "Well it seemed like a good idea at the time but your acting was so bad its lucky Edith didn''t rumble us early."


    "My acting don''t you mean your acting you were almost chewing the scenery."


    "Hey Mr overacting thy name is Willem. Bruno back me up here it''s all Willem''s fault isn''t it?"


    "Don''t put me in the middle of this you sort this out yourselves."


    "Okay look sorry Willem it was all Susan''s fault."


    "Nani?!"

 125 Chapter 125 The truth about cults

    "Nani?!"


    Susan responded with a look of disbelief that Kyle would blame her for something when she wasn''t even there, what had she done to deserve the blame for this?


    "Susan I''ve already said before no nani."


    Kyle responded to her which made her upset so she turned away with a pout and began to sing to herself to alleviate this sense of betrayal.


    "All around me are familiar faces, worn out places....."


    "Just ignore her anyway let''s get moving we have work to do Clara, Miranda and Elena you''ll be under the command of Faye until this is finished. Bruno you''re with Ash and Alena can you remain on station at the infirmary to look after any injured personnel."


    None of his team currently had fixed duties but during their escape from the arena they had shown they could handle themselves so Kyle thought it would be for the best if they were seconded to some of the other forces.


    All of them nodded and headed out with their assigned leaders. Harris and Landon were speaking about the deployment of the guards and which would be the best places for them to be located for the counter attack. Maria was also with them and was giving her own opinion every so often, even though she didn''t argue her points were well made and accurate.


    Harris was surprised with Maria''s tactical mind and was thinking back on the last few years and realised he had been so easily manipulated by his younger brother with his rumours and lies. Clyde was also still in the meeting room as he didn''t know what he should do.


    Kyle could see Clyde''s awkwardness so he decided to throw him a bone.


    "Father, Clyde has a good analytical mind I think he would be well suited as a tactician can you use this opportunity to guide him?"


    Landon could instantly tell Kyle wanted to maintain a good relationship with his cousin hence why he chose to include him in their planning and he was also implying that when he took over the family Clyde would have a similar position as Harris currently held.


    "Of course Kyle that''s a good idea, come on Clyde you need to learn these things."


    With that sorted Kyle indicated for Willem and Susan to follow him. Once they had left the planning room Susan returned to her usual personality leaving Willem a little wrong footed.


    "So what''s up little Kyle? Who we gonna mess up right now I''m hankering for some spankering!"


    "Not quite yet Susan, can you take Willem on your falcon to see his mother and sister please. Willem I know you want to see them but remember they''ve been really hurt so you need to take this slow."


    "I know Kyle and thanks for this."


    Willem responded with a catch in his voice as this would be the first time he had seen his mother for as long as he could remember. Before he could get too worked up however Susan came to the rescue with a heavy slap to the back.


    "Okay kiddo let''s not get all teary eyed you need to man up and grow a pair, let''s get a jolly on I don''t want to muss the fun."


    With that she dragged away Willem towards the perches of the falcons. Kyle still wondered sometimes if Susan was a fool or a genius but he decided that she was probably a foolish genius at best.


    Making his own way to his room he opened his armoury and began tooling up for the battle that was to come. He would of course take his favourite katana but what else should he bring for this operation decisions, decisions.


    He finally settled on some more throwing knives and a heavy mace this was in case he encountered people who were heavily armoured and as the katana was more of a slashing weapon the mace would work better if he needed to break through their armour.


    He also wore some scale armour he had the boys whip up as he was currently still growing and he couldn''t always have them re-forge plate armour when he had a growth spurt. Scale mail could be adjusted and gaps could be filled in with beast leather meaning he could leave it for longer between adjustments.


    Happy with his decision he headed to the main hall to meet with Ash and his men. Reaching the entrance he saw that the team was already present with Ash and Dylan front and centre. Bruno was standing with Ash and to Kyle''s surprise he saw the Daryl''s standing with Dylan.


    "Dylan have you taken these men as your squad?"


    Kyle asked curiously as these weren''t long serving members and hadn''t seen much combat so Kyle wondered why Dylan would have these men as his followers.


    "Yep we''ve been training together so I think they''ll be good but more importantly they have similar names to me."


    Kyle could only look at Dylan with a blank expression for a moment before responding.


    "Dylan is that really your reason?"


    Dylan nodded emphatically while the Daryl''s were nodding from behind him. Kyle could only see this as three idiots following the lead idiot.


    "Well do whatever you want, Ash I want three teams you''ll take the main force and will go on my signal to hit the front. Dylan you''ll take your squad along with another squad to cover the rear of the building. I''ll take a squad with me to take out the cult leadership. Luke your squad will be with me now let''s get going."


    With that Kyle headed out and grabbed his steed from the stable followed by the more than 170 in number ''death watch''. While this number was now largely made up of conscripts they had seized from the merc bands within the city their strength was not something to be underestimated.


    The ''breath of deliverance'' cultivation technique they were now using had pushed their strength far over that of the other mercs. With the understanding that as long as they were diligent in their training they could rise high they had begun training in earnest.


    This battle while harsh would be a good test for Kyle''s expanded forces as they would have to work together to destroy this enemy. Kyle would step in if they were in trouble but he hoped that they would be able to learn from this experience and grow with it.


    As this crowd of armoured warriors galloped through the city a few people were peering out from their homes or from within the safe houses Kyle had provided. Seeing these men in gleaming armour with vicious looking weapons of all manner of forms they couldn''t help but think to themselves.


    "Someone is going to be boned."


    Kyle himself was thinking about the strength of this force and was thinking of ways to improve their strengths and the thing he found himself looking at the most was their mounts. If he could acquire ground based demonic beasts of greater strength he would have armoured cavalry as well as having air support from the falcons.


    While Kyle was day dreaming they continued rushing through the quiet streets. It looked as though there was a lull in the fighting as the various groups had disengaged to gather their strengths for another push.


    Kyle knew Faye would put this quiet before the storm to good use and would begin he campaign against the merc bands, while One would continue hitting the gangs keeping them from marshalling their forces.


    While it was relatively quiet there was still the occasional fight going on so as they were passing a squad would break off to assist the guards or the ''shadow hand'' before returning to the column and continuing to their destination.


    As they were approaching the old tannery a smell of copper and something else which was best left unsaid flew towards them on the breeze. The men who had experienced war before recognised this smell as it signalled they were approaching a killing zone. Kyle also knew this smell from the times he had been on missions recently, Bruno had also gone with Kyle a few times so he had also experienced death but he still had not developed Kyle''s mind set yet.


    Cresting a low rise they could see into the yard of the tannery and were appalled by what they saw down there. Body parts were strewn across the ground with blood pooling in the dirt, it looked like the worst photo''s you saw from war zones with no regard for the dignity of those who had died.


    The most appalling thing however was the cultists who were in the yard, they were gnawing on the parts left around in the yard with no concern or regard for what they were doing. This was the true face of the cults, they were worse than any beast and in Kyle''s opinion were fully beyond redemption.


    Bruno was heaving to the side while even the other battle hardened veterans had pale faces while looking anywhere else. Kyle turned to Ash before speaking.


    "Ash what do you think we should do?"


    "We should do what is right and proper."


    Hearing Ash''s response Kyle stood up in his stirrups and shouted


    "Give them no quarter, send them to hell!"

 126 Chapter 126 Now thats just not cricke

    "Give them no quarter, send them to hell!"


    Kyle led the way as he raced down into the tannery yard followed closely by his men. Gradually they ranged out and formed a cavalry line three men deep. The ground shook and war cry''s sounded, this wasn''t going to be a battle but rather a purge of this unclean growth.


    Kyle drew his heavy mace from his saddle and as he reached the nearest cultist he used an underhand swing like he was playing polo. The cultist only had time to look up before he was launched through the air smashing into a wooden fence behind with a new hole in his stomach where the mace made contact.


    As the rest of the line made contact the cultists were being sliced and crushed by weapons and the weight of the steeds Kyle and his men rode. The post and rail fencing was no barrier to these war steeds as they just ploughed right on through with barely any loss of speed.


    Ash seemed to be on a mission as all around him there were bits of cultists now mixed in with the remains of the civilians, even Bruno seemed to be in a state of bloodlust. Bruno was still using his war hammer but he had tears streaming down his face as he swung his weapon around blasting the cultists away.


    In Bruno''s mind he put his parents and Alena in this position without any help or strength to defend themselves. He became overtaken with anger and pain so like any child would do he lashed out at those that wanted to hurt his family in the most basic way possible.


    Kyle broke the line down as they began clearing the yard with squads ranging out to delete the groups of cultists who were out of their line of attack. When Kyle saw Bruno swinging his hammer down onto an already dead cultist Kyle approached him.


    "Bruno stop he''s already dead."


    "I know but what if they can come back."


    Bruno responded to Kyle with bloodshot eyes and with his mind shaken. The depravity he had seen was something which disturbed him on a level which he wouldn''t have believed possible. Kyle looked at his best friend with sympathy as he had already seen something similar when he was on a mission with ''shadow hand'' to remove another cultist group in the city.


    "Bruno trust me he isn''t going to come back from that. Now look up at the sky and think of Alena and your parents. They are safe and no one can get to them where they are, they are safe and you are going to keep them that way okay?"


    Bruno had been under Kyle''s command for years now and obeyed without even thinking about it consciously. With Kyle''s calm words he began to recover before looking around himself and saw what he had done to the nearby cultists.


    If his face wasn''t already pale it would become so and if he hadn''t already puked his guts out he would already be trying to regurgitate his toenails right now. Kyle saw Bruno swallowing quickly and using this opportunity grabbed a nearby overturned bucket before saying.


    "If you''re going to spew, spew into this."


    Before he shook the bucket in front of Bruno''s face. This brought a pained smile to his face before he responded to his friend.


    "Yeah very funny, you should get back to work before I replace you."


    On hearing this Kyle knew Bruno would be okay as sometimes dark humour is the best way to deal with the horrors people can create.


    Ash and his men had finished sweeping up the yard and were now arranging themselves in front of the tannery. Kyle approached them while Ash was still issuing orders with Bruno following behind him. When the men saw Bruno they felt for the kid as most of them hadn''t seen anything this bad before but they had fought in wars so were somewhat hardened.


    "Ash I want your men to form a perimeter around the building, I don''t want any cultists to get away during this purge. Dylan you take your men and head through the loading dock. Luke you and I will be heading through the personnel entrance on the other side. The chains are off gentlemen use all of your skills to remove this cancer. Remember no cultists get out of here alive."


    With that Kyle headed to the staff entrance with Luke and his squad of five other men while Dylan headed to the loading dock. Dylan''s team also consisted of 6 men in total with the Daryl''s the other 2 men where some who knew Dylan from before they joined and where from the same battalion he was from in the imperial army.


    "Luke how''s the arm ready to remove some scum?"


    Kyle asked Luke as he was formerly the one armed guardsman who with the use of Kyle''s technique had his arm re-grow. Luke flexed his arm a little before responding.


    "All good sir I''ll show these bastards what it means to attack our city? I have to ask though why is Dylan in command of the other team, I mean I like the guy but he''s a bit..."


    Luke struggled to find the correct words to express what he was trying to say as he had lived and trained with Dylan over the last few years and wondered why Kyle and Ash gave him so much authority.


    "Look I know Dylan is a little....special when it comes to his daily life, but he is an exceptional soldier and a loyal comrade. You should trust him when it comes to battle, maybe not in anything else though."


    The team had a laugh at this as they reached the personnel entrance. There was no reason to try and sneak in and the only reason Kyle didn''t have the entire force rush in was because there was too much debris scattered around for the whole force to fight effectively and with all the other ways in and out the cultists would be easily able to break through a perimeter with too few members.


    Kyle used his soul sense to scan past the doorway and a distance further in and found that past this door was a small hallway with another door on the other side. On the other side of the door was a group of 7 cultists with one on either side of the door.


    Past these 7 several other groups of cultists were spread out around the workshop floor, luckily these groups were spread out as the various workbenches, rollers and tool stations meant they couldn''t just crowd the door without blocking their other members.


    Knowing that the area around the door was clear Kyle led the way in followed by Luke who''s eyes travelled all over looking for the enemy. Kyle reached the door and was thinking of the best way to deal with those on the other side.


    Kyle''s eyes fell on Luke''s weapon which was a staffsword with a four foot hilt and a blade of the same length. Kyle wasn''t a fan of this type of weapon, I mean why not just use a spear if you wanted the range but after Luke had trained with this Kyle couldn''t deny it''s utility.


    Kyle indicated Luke should aim for the wall where the door opened at about 5 foot 2 inches high and began to count down with his fingers 3, 2, 1.


    When Kyle reached 1 Luke stabbed forward and Kyle kicked the door open with as much force as he felt the door could handle.


    One the other side of the door the cultists were standing there and were beginning to get restless as they could hear battle coming from the other side of the building already but on their side there was no movement.


    Suddenly there was a burst of activity, one of the men standing next to the door had a blade sticking through his neck and the blade only stopped mere inches away from the man nearest to him. Before they could even react to this the door they were guarding was blasted open.


    The door swung open coming back against the wall smashing into the cultists standing there stunning him for a moment, however the bit the made everyone freeze was that the latch from the door broke away when the door was kicked and ended up in the eye of the cultist standing directly behind it killing him instantly.


    Kyle saw this and couldn''t help saying aloud.


    "Well can''t say I was expecting that but I''ll take it."


    With that Kyle rushed in with his mace and with a wide swing knocked the rest of the cultists over the worktables behind them letting the rest of the squad enter and form up cleanly. Luke had pulled his staffsword from the wall and followed Kyle.


    Seeing the number of cultists Luke merely flicked his blade to clear the blood on it before they all rushed forward and a large scale fight ensued.


    The cultists were not true soldiers and relied on the strength boost they received from their corrupted cultivation techniques so when faced with Kyle''s team they were at an immediate disadvantage.


    These beastly cultists weren''t smart enough to fall back and whittle down their enemies strength, instead they would obediently approach through the tight alleys within the tannery or try to climb over the tables only to be greeted by an array of weapons Kyle''s team were carrying.


    There was one thing Kyle knew and that was that these cannon fodder were the weakest and lowest rank within the cult and the higher ranks used a more beneficial technique so they retained their mentality.


    Finally clearing the workshop area Kyle and the others passed through into a packaging area while wondering when Dylan''s team would meet up with them.


    Within the packing area there were several more cultists only these seemed to be the stronger members as they formed up in smaller teams and rather than just rush in were waiting for Kyle to make a move.


    Not wanting to draw this out Kyle ran towards a largish group who were standing behind a barricade of boxes. Kyle didn''t slow down and instead jumped when he reached the boxes. As the cultists prepared to attack him Kyle''s foot landed on the top of the boxes and he gave himself a hard push launching over the heads of the cultists who couldn''t react fast enough.


    The cultists could do nothing other than watch as Kyle flipped over them but this was their undoing as Kyle wasn''t alone. As they were distracted Luke and the rest of the team rolled over the boxes and stabbed, hacked and smashed them.


    The other cultists in the room broke rank when they saw this, some rushed towards Kyle and the team while others ran in different directions. A melee followed with Kyle moving around and between other battles, helping when needed and taking out as many cultists as he could.


    As the battle was dying down Kyle was faced with the largest cultist present. He was holding 2 bastard swords with a wide stance prepared for a battle. Kyle didn''t want to waste anymore time so he simply kicked a piece from a broken crate at the cultists face.


    The cultist used one of his swords to block but while his vision was obscured Kyle rushed in and swung his mace along the ground rising up at the apex of the arc and crack.


    "Uhh."


    Yup right in the daddy sack. The cultists face went pink, white, green and yellow before finally settling on something similar to pumpkin before he said in a voice which could pass for a soprano.


    "You win."

 127 Chapter 127 Anyone order a yandere

    "You win."


    With that the high ranking cultist collapsed to the side while foaming at the mouth. Kyle looked at this man with disdain as unlike the lower level cultists who were forced or manipulated; this man knew precisely what was happening.


    "Damn right in the plums."


    Luke had come forward and seeing the cultist lying on the ground could only comment while covering his crotch with both hands. Any man could understand this instinctive reaction even though Kyle hadn''t even looked in his direction yet.


    "Oh you''re already here."


    While they were observing the disabled cultist Dylan and his team had made their way through from their side and had entered the packing room.


    "Hi Dylan any problems on your side?"


    "No problems sir we did have to use some magic when they started pushing hard but nothing to special and we took no injuries."


    Dylan reported his success with a prideful look on his face, he had commanded several missions on his own but he was always happy when he completed them to his satisfaction.


    Luke on seeing Dylan looking smug wanted to take him down a couple of pegs responded to him with a smirk on his face.


    "Oh you had to use magic, we didn''t have to use any and we got through without any injuries."


    "Maybe but you had Lord Kyle with you. Let me guess he did some crazy moves and took out the main before they could do anything and you just cleaned up after him."


    Dylan responded with ease as he had been in that situation himself, Luke hearing Dylan''s response shut his mouth as this was pretty much what had happened. Kyle had leapt into the fray drawing all attention to himself while Luke and his men supported him.


    "Enough we have work to do. The leader of this cabal wasn''t amongst his people so he must be somewhere upstairs so keep your eyes open. Luke deal with that."


    Kyle indicated with his hand the cultist on the ground while he began moving to a stairway at the back of the room. Luke took out his blade and beheaded the cultist. No one amongst Kyle''s people would show any hesitation to the cultists and even less to their leaders.


    Kyle began to move up the stairs while looking around for the boss of this little gathering of degenerates. As he was halfway up the staircase a man appeared from behind a wall in front of him.


    "My my it looks like you''ve destroyed my toys, why did you do that hum?"


    The man was looking at Kyle with a vindictive light in his eyes as though he had the world in his hand and only needed to close it to claim it. Kyle had seen this arrogance in the other cult leaders he had destroyed before and could see what was coming.


    "Your people are corrupted and are a cancer to be removed for the safety of the civilians."


    Kyle responded in such a way so that the enemy leader would be able to monologue while Kyle was busy working on something.


    "Ha-ha you think you''re saving the people? Let me tell you those weak members you killed outside were your own civilians."


    The man was looking at Kyle and his men expecting some kind of reaction from them. All he received however was a look seeming to ask if he was stupid while Kyle continued what he was doing unseen by the man.


    "Yes we know and now you''re going to accuse us of being monsters and blah blah. I take it no one deemed you important enough to know that we have already annihilated several cabals of yours? We have even managed to heal the people you''ve forced into serving you but with what they were forced to do and endure all of them killed themselves when they recovered."


    Kyle was looking at the man straight in the eye and the man swallowed while taking a step back. While Kyle''s face was expressionless his eyes burned with a radiance that scared the man. He was prepared to die but something in Kyle''s stare put fear into him at a basic and primal level.


    "You can''t do anything; if you try to attack me you''ll fail after all I have the high ground!"


    When he said this the man also held out his hand and a fireball appeared in front of it. It looked like this man was a mage of the fire element. Dylan, Luke and their men were watching this man without doing anything and merely waited for Kyle''s signal.


    "So a fire mage interesting thank you for confirming something for me but now time for a fall."


    When Kyle said that he blasted a wind wave out without using his hands or any other medium to direct it. This isn''t something the mages of the empire could do as at the minimum they would use their hands to direct their magic.


    As the wind wave blasted out several posts and joists behind the staircase collapsed. Kyle had weakened them with undetectable wind blades while he had been speaking to the idiot at the top of the stairs.


    With a groan and a splintering sound the entire suspended floor fell along with the cultist''s leader who was still partially obscured by the partition wall he was hiding behind. As the man hit the floor he was followed by a large pile of debris that fell over him pinning him to the ground.


    Once the cacophony was over Kyle strolled over to see the cult leader who was struggling to get free but had a large piece of wood sticking into his leg so he couldn''t pull himself free.


    "So much for high ground."


    Kyle said with as much disdain as possible in his voice. The cult leader looked up at him with a hateful gaze before he began focusing on his magic in an attempt to strike out at Kyle.


    Before he was able to bring his magic into focus Dylan kicked the splinter that was sticking in his leg, to his merit the man didn''t scream and just sucked in a deep breath but lost control of his magic letting the mana dissipate into the atmosphere.


    "So you have imperial training as a mage, thanks for confirming the connection between the imperial family and the cultists for me."


    Kyle was already suspicious of these cultists and how they remained free and that the only members who were caught before were the lower levels while the leaders remained free and this wasn''t just an issue in the northern territories but throughout the entirety of the empire.


    Seeing this small boss was a mage and the method he was using was far to advanced for civilians to have access to Kyle deduced that there must be some connection between them. He didn''t know what the connection was and for what purpose but the sooner they were cut off from the empire the better.


    Kyle didn''t want to sully his hands so he pulled one of his throwing blades and cast it into the enemy''s eye with a simple toss killing him instantly.


    "We''re done here let''s get back."


    Kyle said and led the way out of the tannery followed by Dylan and Luke with their teams. On exiting the building Kyle looked around and saw some new bodies on the ground and some of Ash''s men were moving the bodies of the civilians into one place and the bodies of the cultists to another.


    "We''re moving back Ash get your men together."


    With that Kyle began moving back to his bastion while Ash and his men continued with their corpse duty before returning as well.


    The city was more chaotic now than when he had ridden through but Kyle wasn''t bothered by anyone as he made his way back. Throwing an occasional knife or spell as he passed Kyle reached the bastion in short order.


    When he entered the main entrance he was immediately surrounded by members of ''steel lotus'' who had just come back from their own mission. Elena, Clara and Miranda were also present as they had also been on the mission.


    "Hi Kyle you good?"


    Clara asked while giving him a quick look over.


    "Yes nothing but the usual stuff with these damn cultists."


    Kyle responded while Clara nodded her head before looking at Miranda in a strange way. Kyle noticed this look and saw there were other strange gazes directed her way from the other members.


    "Why''s everyone looking at Miranda like that?"


    Kyle asked with some confusion as there was some fear in their eyes when they looked her way.


    "Um well someone may have said something about you and Miranda may have got a little angry."


    Clara responded awkwardly while Miranda''s smile grew slightly wider before she spoke.


    "They shouldn''t have insulted you Kyle."


    "Oh is this what yandere means?"

 128 Chapter 128 The problem with prophecy

    "Oh is this what yandere means?"


    Elena said while looking curiously at Miranda while Clara looked a little scared at this as due to Kyle''s influence she knew what a yandere was. Kyle looked Miranda straight in the eye before calmly responding.


    "No I don''t think so; Miranda just got angry on my behalf and went a little over the top."


    While Kyle said this he was in fact thinking of various exit strategies just in case. The best he came up with so far was that if she did go full yandere he would run for the hills, find a nice cave and live like a virgin hermit for the rest of his life. You don''t mess with the yandere.


    "A little over the top Miranda was about to *muggugh*...."


    As Clara was trying to tell Kyle what Miranda had done Miranda had placed her hand over her mouth with a sweet smile on her face which made Clara have a cold sweat on her back.


    "Now sister Kyle doesn''t need to know all the boring details does he?"


    Clara quickly shook her head when she heard this while Kyle began thinking that he may have to enact his escape strategy if this got any creepier.


    To distract himself from this disquieting feeling Kyle addressed Faye who was still standing to the side watching their interactions like she was watching a soap opera.


    "So Faye barring Miranda''s little.....hiccup how did the mission go any problems?"


    "No problems sir we succeeded in disabling or kidnapping several key figures with the merc bands. Currently those captured are receiving their slave seals and will be dispatched to help the guards until the troubles are dealt with."


    "Good carry on in the same way until you hear otherwise, I want as many of these groups weakened as possible. If you find any groups separated pass the details to Ash as the ''death watch'' is now clear to assist in capturing any weakened groups."


    "Yes sir oh and Lady Susan wanted to speak with you. She looked unusually....serious; I''ve never seen her with an expression like that before. She''s currently in the library if you want to see her."


    "Okay I''ll head up and see her now. Elena, Clara, Miranda are you going to continue assisting Faye or are you doing something else?"


    Kyle asked as his girls were only assisting ''steel lotus'' at the moment but could help almost anywhere else they choose to.


    "We were planning on going and helping Alena now we''ve finished the mission unless you want us to stay with Faye to help out."


    Miranda was the one who responded while Clara was still watching her from the corner of her eye and Elena was openly staring at her with undisguised interest.


    "Okay I''ll probably come by later to check on the infirmary and see if I can help out as well."


    As Kyle was getting ready to go and see Susan, Landon and Harris came down the staircase. They had been using the meeting room to plan their next actions in Kyle''s meeting room but were now heading back to the main manor to issue their orders.


    "Kyle when did you get back?"


    Landon asked with a smile on his face as the news from the various battlefields showed that with the assistance of Kyle''s forces they were beginning to push back the enemy and with the loss of the cultists which would be used as shock troopers the Miles family had begun to pull their lines back.


    "Just now dad my mission was completed successfully and the cultists have been fully annihilated."


    "Yes we saw from the movements of the enemy that they were expecting reinforcement but it wasn''t coming so they began retreating."


    Harris also commented and with Kyle''s confirmation they could now begin going on the offensive rather than being passive.


    "Be careful and don''t overextend my teams have also begun weakening the merc groups but the remaining members of these groups may get absorbed into the other bands strengthening them."


    This was Kyle''s major worry while using this strategy but he couldn''t see any better way of doing this so he had no choice but to use this method.


    "Okay we''ll try and break apart the different groups and prevent them from forming up."


    Harris responded while Landon was really happy seeing his brother and son working together for the betterment of the family.


    "Where is Clyde is he around or is he off doing something?"


    Kyle suddenly asked as he realised his cousin wasn''t with Landon and Harris, he did worry about his cousin and the current situation he was in.


    "Clyde''s fine he took some guards to reinforce Neil and coordinate our combined forces. I''m just amazed at the number of enemies we have to deal with."


    Landon responded with this as he didn''t think his family and city had offended this many people. Kyle however wasn''t surprised as he knew that they didn''t hate them or anyone in the city most of them were just after money and resources.


    "Dad they don''t hate us they''re just looking for a pay day, anyway I have to go and speak to Susan."


    "Okay oh can you also go and speak to your mother when you get a chance; she was in your atrium last time we spoke."


    Kyle nodded to his father before he began making his way to see Susan and to find out what had made this cheeky little chipmunk become serious. It must be something big to make her lose her cheerful demeanour and as far as he knew only one thing would make her like this.


    Reaching the library in short order Kyle opened the door and entered. Looking around he saw Susan standing at the large windows with her hands behind her back surveying the city outside. It struck Kyle how lonely this view was and how difficult it must be to be what accounted as a prophet.


    "Hi Susan how are you doing?"


    Kyle asked Susan with a bright voice and a smile on his face, his mother had told him about some of the things Susan had been forced to endure as a seer as some people would blame her for her visions and this had made Susan put up a stoic face whenever she was other people.


    She only let loose when she was around Kyle''s family and now she had dropped her facade completely as she now felt free. But now she had regained he mask when facing Kyle.


    "Kyle I have something to tell you, I have received a prophecy and it is a double locked prophecy."


    "I''m sorry Susan I never really looked into future sight and prophecy stuff, what''s a double looked prophecy?"


    Kyle didn''t like foretelling and the like as he felt this was some means of subtle manipulation from an outside source and Kyle didn''t like being forced into doing something.


    "Some prophecies are fluid and their meaning is ambiguous enough that they can be interpreted in a great number of ways. Other''s such as those that relate to natural disasters and the like can be highly specific."


    Susan explained some of the basic forms prophecy can take, even though Kyle didn''t like or want to adhere to any prophecies he listened regardless as he didn''t want to upset Susan.


    "Double lock prophecies are different as they are usually keyed into a specific person or location. The meaning of the double lock is that according to the prophecy you must do one thing or another and these decisions are almost always painful."


    When Susan said this she looked at Kyle with an uncharacteristic look of sadness and pity on her face. Kyle saw this and knew that this prophecy could potentially be really bad.


    "Susan does this prophecy give any specifics about time, place anything like that?"


    "No it doesn''t but the possible outcomes will affect you forever."


    "If that''s the case I don''t want to know what the prophecy is. I won''t let my actions be dictated by something simply saying "this will happen". If I make mistakes they are mine to make and no one else''s."


    Susan on hearing this opened her eyes widely and a look of confusion flushed across her face. In all the time she had been known as a seer no one had refused to hear a prophecy from her and they had even pushed for more while Kyle had straight up rejected even being told.


    "If you don''t know what??s coming how will you be able to prepare for it?"


    "I''ll plan for everything I can and will do the best I can with that. If you have a vision with specific information like about a disaster or an enemies location I''ll take that as intelligence but prophecy man what a load of bull."


    When she heard Kyle''s opinion of prophecy Susan became happy again as she knew he wouldn''t blame her even if the worst happened.


    "Hey Kyle any chance I can get some pancakes for dinner I''ve really got a hankering for some."


    "I don''t see why not."


    Kyle responded with a smile when from out of nowhere.


    "Pancakes!!"

 129 Chapter 129 The Japanese ring FTW

    "Pancakes!!"


    "Mother fudging biscuits! Who was that are you trying to give me a heart attack, get out her so I can kick your butt!"


    Kyle found from this that Susan didn''t deal with surprises very well and it was fun to watch as she lost it to the unseen intruder. A shadow began expanding along the floor creating a pool of darkness, from within a pale hand reached out and grabbed the edge where the shadow turned to wood.


    Another equally pale hand reached out and grasped next to the first and gradually a form began to appear. The shape of a head began coming out of the shadow with inky black hair which covered the face. The form continued to grow from the shadow until it resolved into a kneeling figure with its face fully obscured by the long and thick hair.


    "Eeep is it a g-g-g-ghost?"


    Susan shouted out before hiding behind Kyle''s back. For his part Kyle''s heart was beating a mile a minute because of the strange way the figure was moving and the way it came out of the shadow which was different than anyone else he had taught darkness magic.


    Most people would exit the shadow as if they were walking through a door as it was what came most naturally. The figure however crawled out of the shadow like something from a Japanese horror movie and this would put anyone on edge and if there were any video cassettes about Kyle would already be screaming like a five year old girl.


    The figure slowly stood up and then suddenly like a dog which had gotten wet shook its head vigorously. The darkness left their hair and was replaced with honey blonde locks and a bright disposition. Yup Elena had made her entrance in the most epic and bowel loosening way possible.


    "Did you say pancakes?"


    Elena asked while looking at the shaking pair. Kyle was shaking while trying not to laugh while Susan was still shaking from fear. There is almost no entertainment in this world and you can forget about horror for enjoyment so Susan had no defence against this.


    "Why did you come in like that I almost peed myself and why did your hair stay dark like that?"


    Susan said while waiving an accusing finger at Elena while hoping from one foot to another either in anger or because she had really almost peed.


    "Oh the dark didn''t want to leave so I had to shake it off anyway more important are you doing pancakes?"


    "Pancakes, pancakes what about my pure heart you almost made it come out of my throat."


    Susan was still raging but she was talking to the wrong person as Elena as always was in her "my pace" mode.


    "If your heart was going to come out of anywhere surely it would come straight out of your chest wouldn''t it?"


    "What hey you....you know what I give up now I need to go to the toilet."


    With that Susan rushed off while Elena grabbed Kyle''s arm and began to drag him to the kitchen. She always said that Kyle''s cooking was the best, Kyle couldn''t see it himself but he decided to make her pancakes as she had given him an idea psychological warfare.


    Due to lower light and the chance of ambushes the fighting in the city would dial down during the night with the various forces retreating within locations secured with arrays which would limit or block any magical or physical attacks when activated.


    With Elena''s scary entrance Kyle had the idea to mess with the people in these areas using sound manipulation and illusions. He would have their locations thanks to ''steel lotus'' who were spying on the enemy and with his falcon he would be able to have an overview of the areas he was influencing.


    He would have ''steel lotus'' on standby and using light, wind and water magic''s he should be able to create believable illusions and if they broke and ran ''steel lotus'' would be able to sweep them up but if they didn''t at least he would be able to unnerve them.


    He began whipping up a batch of pancake mix while he was thinking about this while Elena was watching over his shoulder and they were soon joined by Clara and Miranda who also volunteered him to make them sweets as well.


    Dark descended over the city while Kyle was playing at master chef and the various bands and groups returned to their secured locations while Kyle was letting his mind run wild. According to the intelligence Faye had brought him there were a reasonable number of merc bands holding up in an empty aristocratic estate on the border of the slums.


    This would be the perfect place to strike as it appeared creepy anyway and with the tumble down walls he would have a good view of the proceedings he also thought it would be good to have some company while he was messing with these guys.


    "Hey girls would you like to accompany me tonight I want to have some fun."


    "Sure."


    "Yes Kyle."


    "Okey dokey."


    Were the responses he received while the people around them were looking at them with differing expressions before Liam broke the silence.


    "I knew my daughter would grow up but I didn''t want it to happen this quickly."


    And Ash also spoke up.


    "Be careful with my daughter I don''t want to be a grandpa yet."


    While their wives merely gave their daughters a thumbs up. Clara and Miranda on the other hand went bright red understanding the meaning behind their parent''s words while Elena added to the chaos as usual.


    "Oh is it that time already, do I get to ride the pony first?"


    Kyle could only rub his forehead at this and he did wonder if the people he was surrounded by did have something wrong with their minds or if he was just a bad influence.


    "That isn''t what I''m talking about, I''m going to mess with the enemies and it could turn out rather entertaining and thought they may enjoy the show."


    "Oh." Everyone responded with some looking happy and some looking disappointed but Kyle wouldn''t say which was which.


    Before they decided to head out Kyle wanted to check on his mother as she wanted to speak to him earlier and he may be rushed again tomorrow. So he headed to the atrium in his bastion, he hadn''t spent much time here but seeing the beautiful sky with a view including the city roofs he regretted not taking the time to enjoy the sights a little more.


    His mother was sitting at a table with Shauna in attendance making her tea and keeping her company while she was reading a book.


    "Hi mum, Shauna what can I do for you?"


    "Kyle come and sit with me for a while, we haven''t just sat and talked for a while and I miss spending time with you."


    Maria responded as she placed a bookmark and closed her book before placing it on the table. Kyle noticed the title of the book and saw it was a guide book entitled "how to raise and care for infants".


    When Kyle saw this title his eyebrows went up almost to his hairline and he looked at his mother with a slightly expectant gaze. This wasn''t lost on Maria as she let a soft smile cover her face and held out her hands to him.


    Kyle noticed golden bracelet on her arm with a green polished stone with a carving placed pride of place within it. This was the aid he had created but for his mother to be already pregnant didn''t make sense to Kyle as that was only a week or two ago so she shouldn''t be able to tell already.


    "Kyle you''re going to be a big brother so I want you to promise to look after your sibling okay."


    "Absolutely but are you sure?"


    Kyle asked as he wanted to check just in case. Maria knew what Kyle was thinking and also knew that he could check with his gifts.


    "You can check for yourself Kyle but I''m sure I think it must be to do with my stronger soul strength as I can feel the life within me."


    With his mothers permission he checked anyway to confirm there were no problems. He could see the life forming but it could only be recent as it hadn''t even begun to take on a humanoid form yet so it looked like his mother was correct and the barrier from the bracelet was now in full force.


    "You''re right mother now whatever you do don''t take off that bracelet."


    Kyle decided he could now tell his mother about the special effect and need for the bracelet. So he gave her an explanation of what it did and also why he asked Landon not to tell her. Hearing what her son said she could only hug him and thank him again and again while Shauna quietly wept at this gift that was given to her friend.


    "Congratulations Kyle but remember if it''s a girl try to keep her from falling for you."

 130 Chapter 130 Who you gonna call

    "Congratulations Kyle but remember if it''s a girl try to keep her from falling for you."


    "What do you mean by that Shauna a younger sister isn''t my kink."


    "Oh really if you aren''t into younger sisters aren''t your cup of tea what is?"


    "Well I think a non blood related person who acts like an older sister is more my speed."


    While Kyle said this he was looking directly at Shauna with a suggestive smile playing on his lips, Shauna was pretending to look bashful while also having a teasing look in her eyes. These two would often play about with innuendo and suggestive comments but nothing was intended by this it was just how they interacted.


    "Shauna, Kyle what are you saying. Shauna if you try to seduce my son I''ll stop speaking to you for a month and Kyle no sibling relations. We aren''t one of the coastal cities am I understood?"


    "Sorry Maria/Mum."


    For once Maria had put her foot down on someone other than her husband. Kyle considered taking his mother and Shauna along for tonight''s entertainment but with his mothers condition he thought it would be best for her to relax and have a quieter time.


    "Well congratulations again mum and I need to get on I have a mission to execute tonight."


    "Ok be careful and make sure you come back safe."


    Kyle bid Maria and Shauna farewell before heading to where his falcon was located. He hadn''t taken it out for a few days and when he approached it the falcon immediately approached him and began rubbing it''s head on him.


    In the short time since he had taken ownership of this falcon it had grown in size far beyond the normal size of this species according to Susan and the others weren''t far behind. Kyle believed this was due to several factors including the availability of mana and also the strengthening of their souls due to the blood contracts.


    Since Kyle''s soul was far and away the most powerful his falcon was able to absorb the most soul energy with Elena''s following closely behind, this was the reason for his belief as like him Elena was special and not from this world.


    Kyle had named his falcon Rih as he felt this was a suitable name for him. After rubbing Rih head for a while the girls appeared and were ready to go and cause some trouble. Kyle mounted up with Clara while Miranda and Elena rode Elena''s falcon.


    Elena still hadn''t named hers as she couldn''t think of anything good and according to her a name is very important and she should take her time over it and it wasn''t because she couldn''t come up with anything.


    Kyle merely shook his head at this and they took off to see what problems they could cause for the merc group they were targeting. According to Clara ''steel lotus'' had already left so they would be in position by the time they arrived and began causing problems.


    Kyle had decided that for this excursion it would only be him and the girls under the pretence of only him being able to cast and maintain believable illusions but in truth it was because he hadn''t been able to spend as much time as he''d like with the girls and this was a good opportunity to have some fun.


    Kyle made them approach the estate from high altitude so they wouldn''t be easily seen by the enemy and he and Elena shrouded their falcons in shadow to further hide them from observation from below.


    Gradually they circled lower until with their enhanced vision they could see what was happening within the estate. The mercs had placed a heavy guard around the perimeter and on various walls there were men armed with bows checking the sky for potential threats as they now knew that the Powell''s had flying beast mounts which caused further problems for them.


    Kyle was thinking how best to start before finally settling on a trope from horror and that was creepy kids. Now the best kind of horror at least to begin with is the kind you can''t see so for this he began with wind magic and created sounds.


    The first victims were a group who were stationed near a broken section of wall. They had a fire in the middle and they were all sitting around it with only two men keeping a watch. They didn''t think they would receive any attacks as there were bigger fish out there.


    While they were chatting one of the sentries thought he heard something and focused out on the darkness trying to see if there was anything out there.


    "Did anyone hear that?"


    "No what was it?"


    "I''m not sure but I think it sounded like kids laughing."


    "Ha what would kids be doing round here? I don''t think you really like those chesty ladies you say you do and are already fantasising."


    As the sentries were arguing a slight thump was heard and more children''s laughter which made the sentries freeze before taking a couple of steps closer to the fire which drew the attention of the rest of the mercs.


    "What''s wrong is there an enemy?"


    The leader of this group asked while standing and looking around carefully but he was unable to see anything.


    "We heard something, it sounded like kids but there shouldn''t be any kids stupid enough to come here."


    The sentries responded with a disturbed look on their faces. The unknown is a scary thing and even though these men would fight beasts and monsters with no fear, suddenly facing something which appears supernatural put them on edge.


    There wasn''t really a belief in ghosts and the like in this world but there also wasn''t disbelief either as the strange and inexplicable happens often.


    While the men were looking around cautiously laughter could be heard from the left of the leader just out of the light of the fire. As they all turned to this source the laughter changed location and came from directly behind making them quickly swing around.


    This was really getting creepy and suddenly all of the men heard a voice just by their right ear. Some could even see the other men and knew there was nothing there.


    "Come play with me."


    The childish voice said before laughing and sounding like it was moving into the distance. The reaction was immediate with some men swing their weapons trying to hit the intangible while others simply tried to scramble away.


    Kyle and the girls who were sitting on their falcons watched this in amusement. No one used magic like this before and using wind magic without any attack potential Kyle was able to bypass the protection given by the arrays.


    Thinking he should step this up a bit Kyle was thinking about what to do next and a malicious grin spread over his face. Clara who saw this was curious as to what he was going to do.


    "Kyle what are you planning?"


    "Full torso apparition."


    "What''s that?"


    Kyle simply smirked before he began to use a combination of wind, light and water magic. The wind was of course for the sound while the light and water were used to make the illusion with water refracting the light to create the illusion.


    As the mercs were still in panic mode the leader saw a flash of white from the corner of his eye followed by the laughter once again. Turning his head in that direction he just caught a figure in white disappearing behind a wall.


    Looking at his men quickly he saw the looks of fear on their faces as they had caught a glimpse at the same time. The same figure appeared at different points around them but so fast they couldn''t see it clearly.


    The men were already close to breaking and running at this point so Kyle decided it was time to give the final push.


    As the men were frantically trying to see around in 360 degrees there was suddenly a soft breeze with a little laughter. Turning their heads they finally saw their tormentor. A little girl in a white dress was approaching them.


    She looked around six with long brown hair. They didn''t recognise her style of dress and she also was holding a doll in her hands. As she approached one of the men shouted out while pointing.


    "She''s got no legs!!"


    Looking at where her feet should be only a light mist could be seen and there was nothing else blocking their view of what was behind her. As she was approaching her face and body began to change. Her eyes began to darken and visible wounds and sores began appearing over her body.


    Gradually parts of her hair began falling out and a wound appeared on her face destroying one of her eyes and revealing a part of her skull. The leader at his point was at breaking point but still needed to lead his team.


    "Okay lads we can do this on my signal we need to go."


    "Three."


    "Two."


    "One."


    "Get her!!"


    As the leader said this he moved towards her with his weapon drawn and the men behind also followed due to their training.


    "ROOOAAARR."


    As they rushed forward the little girl swelled and took on a demonic look to her face and ended up towering over the men with a torn dress and her doll also took on an evil look. With her fangs and glowing red eyes looking down on them the men screamed before running into the dark away from this demon.


    As they ran they reached some of the outer buildings and were dropped with a series of thumps caused by ''steel lotus'' that were in waiting. They hadn''t seen what had occurred and merely picked up these deserters.


    "What did lord Kyle do?"


    "I have no idea but these men were terrified."


    The members of ''steel lotus'' spoke quietly before disappearing with their prey leaving the rest of their team to cover until they returned. Kyle and his girls who had seen everything from their vantage point were laughing at the way the men had run away.


    "That was fun."


    Elena was saying with a glint in her eyes as she had some ideas she wanted to try out but currently she didn''t have Kyle''s skill or control so she decided to train properly from now on.


    "Yeah but who would you call if you really had ghosts in your house?"


    Miranda always the practical maid was asking with a questioning look.


    "Well it wouldn''t be these idiots."

 131 Chapter 131 My personal idea of hell

    "Well it wouldn''t be these idiots."


    Kyle had manipulated the wind in the surrounding area to limit the amount of noise released but a small amount still slipped through and shortly another troop arrived. When Kyle saw these men he decided to change tack and rather than continue with creepy kids he created the illusion of a man in a mask watching them from the distance.


    "Hey who are you and what are you doing here?"


    One of the sentries challenged the illusion; the illusion simply stepped back and around a wall. The sentries all rushed up and jumped around the corner to be met with...nothing. This confused them as he only had seconds before they arrived and there shouldn''t have been enough time for him to run or hide.


    The men spread out in teams of two and begun to search the area for the intruder. As they began to range out further and they lost line of sight with each other Kyle caused the illusion to reappear at certain points drawing the men closer to the locations where ''steel lotus'' were waiting.


    As the men were captured Kyle had an epiphany or maybe a divine intervention. Even the act of capturing these men could be used to scare the others so Kyle quickly found Faye and told her that during the capture they should use their shadow skills and their imagination to make it scary and to let a couple from every group escape to spread the fear.


    Faye quickly disappeared to tell the members of ''steel lotus'' the updated order while Kyle returned to his campaign of terror.


    Under the new orders Kyle watched as the first team approached the ambush location. As they passed a shadowy building the shadows themselves seemed to have come alive and formed tentacle like appendages which grabbed one of the men and dragged him screaming into the shadow.


    The man with him saw this and stepped forward but didn''t want to approach any closer so instead he screamed and ran away much to the amusement of the members of ''steel lotus'' who were in hiding nearby.


    And they began using their imaginations trying to outdo each other in the scare factor. There where shadow squids, something that looked similar to a venus flytrap and Kyle''s personal favourite a shadow woman who had a scarily wide mouth with razor sharp fangs reached out and grabbed one of the men.


    As they were away from the arrays ''steel lotus'' could use more magic than Kyle could in his illusions meaning they would have more versatility but due to being in this less advanced world they lacked imagination.


    Once this new batch was taken or scared to the point they dropped their arms Kyle moved onto his next prey. This was a wandering squad who were checking the perimeter but with two teams already gone there was now a break in their defensive line.


    As the team was walking forward they saw a figure approaching from the distance so they continued moving forward with their leader in front.


    "Who goes there?"


    The leader called out but there was no response so they continued to approach as the figure got closer as well until the leader could clearly see the figure. It was a mirror image of him, he waived his arm and the mirror image did exactly the same, lifting a foot it copied him.


    "Hum must be a mirror, but why would they have such a large mirror in this place."


    He said turning back to his men who were still staring forward with scared expressions. The leader quickly turned back and realised something his men weren''t reflected but this realisation was overshadowed by his mirror image which was now sporting an impossibly wide grin.


    As he watch in horror the grin spread further when suddenly the head split open revealing thousands of sharp fangs and eyes in places there should be eyes and a huge tongue whipping around looking for a target.


    "Eeeeep!"


    "Mommy!"


    "Let''s get the bloody hell outta here."


    "Run away."


    This was the response from the team who were now running for the hills along with their leader but all that awaited them was the shadows of ''steel lotus'', including one who seemed to have a fascination with flying rodents as using their shadow they formed a giant bat which grabbed one of the men before being hauled back up by her comrades.


    This was going well so he headed to the next group, the girls who were watching had decided to double down on their training so they could do things like this as they had learnt a couple of types and merging them like this was their next stage.


    His next target was a single man who was in one of the sleeping chambers. Kyle had picked him up using his soul sense and had something special in mind for him so he made the sound of a man screaming and cast his illusion just outside the door.


    "What in the blazes is going on here?"


    The man grumbled as he opened the door with force not paying attention to what was going on until the sight in front of him made him freeze. In front of him was a pair of young female twins holding hands and wearing simple dresses.


    In this instance there was nothing creepy about them beyond there being young twins in a scary mansion with armed mercenaries around the place but the man reacted in probably the most sensible way anyone had ever reacted in a situation like this.


    Before Kyle''s illusions could do anything the man stepped back and slammed the door and Kyle was sure before he had retreated back he heard the man say.


    "Nope."


    With the door shut Kyle used his soul sense to see what the man was doing and sensed that he was grabbing everything he could lay his hands on and was barricading the door.


    Well that was impressive Kyle thought before continuing on. Kyle was selecting smaller groups but he would soon run into the larger teams and he was thinking how to deal with them. So for the next couple he let their screams of terror reach the larger groups.


    His illusions for these small groups included a man who looked like a plague doctor but moving in a juddery fashion, a woman in a white dress but he caused the light to flicker and die before coming back and each time the light came back she would be closer or further with no rhyme or reason.


    Kyle was concentrating more on the human form as if he created really monstrous forms the men may just attack them as they had fought against demon beast regularly.


    Shadow hands from the walls, people in patient clothing which was surprisingly similar to that worn in our world. Kyle was using everything he could think of. One of the groups managed to dislodge a mana crystal as they were panicking which made a number of the defensive array drop.


    Rather than just directly attach Kyle continued with his house of horror but now he was also including his sorcerer abilities which were largely based around telekinesis. Objects began levitating and were thrown around the place.


    Kyle was moving closer to the large group in the main hall and he had been saving up his masterpiece for these gentlemen.


    Within the great hall the main bulk of the merc force were cowering with each other. Some of the men who had been left to run had made their way to the main hall and spoke of what they had seen.


    "This place is cursed we should never have come."


    "I don''t want to lose my soul."


    "I want my mommy."


    This was a situation they had never heard of before, if it was a physical enemy they would fight to the death but something like this was beyond sword and shield it was a question of their very soul.


    As they were lamenting their decision to come here in the first place all the lights in the hall died down leaving barely any light to see by. Suddenly there was a flash of red light and looking towards the source they saw a figure relaxing in an armchair with a glass of wine in one hand and a book in the other.


    "Well hello there."


    The figure said but they weren''t paying attention to the figure rather they were looking at the pair of large horns on his head.


    "W-w-who are you?"


    The leader of the mercs said to the figure before him.


    "Well I have many names but you can call me Bob."


    "Bob?"


    "Yes Bob."


    "Why are you here Bob?"


    "Well you disturbed the spirits of this place and they want revenge and I''m simply here to watch the show."


    Kyle had decided to put this figure in to create a mythos around what happened today and you always need a narrator to explain what was happening.


    As the demons words fell from the different entrances the figures Kyle had been using to terrorize them began to appear.


    "Are they going to kill us?"


    "Oh no they are merely here to watch the one you need to worry about is just over there."


    The demon pointed to a currently empty archway, all the men couldn''t help but turn their heads to that direction and as they waited with bated breath a sound of metal being dragged could be heard. What was coming after all the horrors they had seen what new level of hell was coming.


    The noise got louder and it was like nails being scraped along a chalkboard making them all shudder. Finally a figure appeared around the corner and came into the low light of the hall. It was a figure to instil terror into the stoutest of hearts and break the strongest of wills.


    It was a.....clown and not just any clown it was a mutant dwarf clown with broken black and brown teeth. The sound they could hear was the sound of a rusty cleaver sword being dragged behind this nightmare fuel.


    "Oh what new hell is this?"


    "Who comes up with this stuff?"


    "Oh crap!!"


    "I think I already did!"


    "Hehehehehe do you want to play a game."


    The clown spoke in a voice which matched its appearance, it sounded like multiple voices were overlapping each other giving it a weirdly otherworldly sound while still sounding horrendous. All the men stepped back while the clown stepped closer.


    For every step the clown took the men took one back until the clown seemed to want to change the game.


    "Booo!"


    That was the final straw as the men broke and ran, there is nothing funnier in any world than seeing a group of 50 men running from a dwarf clown who is chasing them while waiving a giant kitchen knife above its head while shouting things like.


    "Don''t run I won''t hurt you."


    Or


    "You''re only making it worse."


    The girls were rolling around when they saw this until Miranda saw Kyle wasn''t laughing and wasn''t even smiling.


    "Kyle what''s wrong have you noticed something?"


    Clara and Elena also noted Kyle''s strange expression and flew closer, Kyle looked at them with dead eyes before he spoke.


    "Clowns are no laughing matter."

 132 Chapter 132 A match made in heaven

    "Clowns are no laughing matter."


    When Kyle said this the girls all thought that there was some deeper meaning to this and looked once again at the small clown and felt there was some dark and dangerous meaning behind its creation.


    For Kyle even if he couldn''t remember why he hated clowns due to his Swiss cheese memory seeing one again brought up his trauma and he just knew clowns are evil and vile beasts and the best cure for a clown is fire and lots of it.


    With the merc band now dealt with Kyle felt it would be a good idea to head home and get some rest. Due to the loss of this larger band and the rumours which were bound to spread the Miles family and their allies would push up their timetable to limit their losses due to defections.


    Flying back Kyle and the girls were talking and recounting their fun time causing psychological trauma to poor and unsuspecting enemies when Kyle noticed some figures entering his family''s estate.


    They were remaining clear of the arrays and standard patrol routes but it could be seen from the way they were moving and the noise they made these men weren''t well trained. Kyle immediately swept the area using his soul sense to the extreme looking for the true enemy force.


    Much to his disappointment these chuckle brothers seemed to be the only force trying to break into his family estate. It must be stated that after training ''steel lotus'' and his other forces his bar was set far higher and even the ''death watch'' who were trained as a vanguard force were better trained in infiltration.


    The enemy infiltrators were moving while covering each other from shadow to shadow, little did they know they weren''t being observed by Kyle alone but also 3 members of ''death watch'' were also keeping them under observation.


    Normally counter espionage and assassination was dealt with by ''steel lotus'', but as they were spread pretty thin at the moment ''death watch'' had their duties expanded to cover infiltration attempts.


    As the chuckle brothers were moving closer to the centre of the estate, a ring of steel was closing in around them being directed by the members who were observing them. This was done by using simple signals which went unnoticed by the infiltrators.


    Reaching a large open space the chuckle brothers stopped and looked around trying to see if there was anything out of place, they couldn''t see anything but the leader who we''ll call Barry for now had a bad feeling like a noose was closing around his neck.


    "I''ve got a tingling in my waters; something bad is going to happen."


    Barry said to the men and his second who we''ll call Paul responded.


    "Not your waters again we''ve got a job to do so take the lead and get on with it."


    "No I''ll tell you take the lead if you''re so sure."


    "So it''s to me is it?"


    "Yes to you."


    "To me."


    "To you."


    "To me."


    The other men with them were watching this with long suffering looks on their faces and more than one of them was hoping the enemy would catch them to stop these chuckle f*cks from carrying on like they always did.


    The members of the ''death watch'' were watching all this speechlessly as they didn''t know what to do in this situation as there didn''t appear to be any harm in these idiots as they couldn''t even decide if they should go forward or back and if they were carrying a ladder they would do more damage to themselves than to anyone else.


    Deciding that it was enough the team leader of the ''death watch'' gave the signal and they began advancing closing the ring of steel cutting of all their escape routes.


    The chuckle brothers noticed the guards approaching from behind so they led their men forward into the open space with the intent of rushing across and losing the guards in the shadows.


    As they reached the halfway point they noticed the road they were aiming for already had men standing there in full armour not giving them the option to breakthrough. Quickly turning 90 degrees they ran for another alley only to encounter the same.


    Again and again they changed direction only to find no escape until they stopped running and looked around finding the armed guards were now loosely surrounding them gradually drawing in closer. As the ''death watch'' closed in they shrunk the perimeter leaving the infiltrators nowhere to run so they simply sat down with a sigh.


    "Well looks like we''re boned."


    "Yup I told you so."


    "Told me? You didn''t say squat."


    "You just didn''t listen."


    "So it''s my fault, if you thought so you could have said something."


    "Bite me."


    "That''s it."


    The battle ended without a battle and the only injuries were between Barry and Paul as they had started fighting and had to be separated by the ''death watch'', Barry had a nice shiner and Paul had a split lip.


    Kyle sighed because it looked like his enemies seemed to be populated by fools and idiots. Why would they send assassins this inept into his family''s estate? As it was said previously Kyle''s bar for infiltration and assassination was far higher than everyone else in this world.


    The would be infiltrators were taken to be interrogated so Kyle decided to join them and find out what the target of these men was and why they were so crap at their jobs.


    Sweeping down Kyle climbed off his falcon followed by Miranda and Elena and Clara as alighted from theirs when they landed. The members of the ''death watch'' gave the standard over the heart salute when they saw Kyle.


    This salute surprised the infiltrators as the standard respect given to nobles was to either prostrate yourself or if you were in a situation like this you would at least be required to bow deeply, the fact all the members had simply banged their fists to their chests was unheard of.


    The in infiltrators knew who Kyle was as they had seen pictures of him and those of his inner circle they could find. With this apparent lack of decorum the infiltrators felt that the guards didn''t give Kyle any respect and so wanted to try to temp them into letting them go and possibly kill or kidnap Kyle.


    "It looks like you don''t want to follow that boy. If you let us go and help bring that lad with us we can give you wealth and women as you want.


    Barry was the first to try and entice the men, he looked at Kyle with a smirk thinking that before long he would be free and possibly in a better position than he was previously.


    "Yeah we''ve got plenty of money and any woman you want we can get. Even those pretty, pretty girls behind the boy can be yours."


    Paul followed up with this taking on a lewd smile while he did, Barry also had a light in his eyes but they were looking at Kyle and it was best you didn''t think about what was going through his head.


    The men who were following the chuckle f*cks could only shake their heads. They had been assigned to these two but didn''t have any loyalty to them and even felt disgusted by them but as they were mid level members of the Miles family they had no choice but to follow.


    Kyle''s eyes took on a dangerous tone when he heard what Paul said and before anyone could react he moved. His image blurred and suddenly he was standing where Paul was previously with both hands extended out and one foot behind like he''d just done a lunge.


    What he''d actually done was an overlapped double palm strike to Paul''s chest fracturing his ribcage and driving the bone fragments into his lungs and heart killing him. It was as if Paul had been in a car accident and had hit his chest against the steering column.


    To Kyle''s left Miranda was standing in the place Barry had previously been standing with one hand and foot against the floor and the other leg forming a perfect line while Barry was currently sailing over eight feet in the air.


    Barry made a perfect parabolic arc before his head hit the ground with his torso being in line above him. He remained upright like that for a moment before his body toppled over with a thump and he didn''t get up.


    The other infiltrators were looking at the damage the couple had caused with a new found sense of fear while Kyle and Miranda recovered their stances. Kyle looked over at Barry and could see bruising starting to appear at the back of his neck and said to Miranda.


    "I think you broke his neck."


    One of the ''death watch'' also affirmed.


    "Yup definitely broke his neck."


    Kyle looked impressed for a moment before he asked Clara.


    "Is this what she did when she was on mission with ''steel lotus''?"


    "No we spoke to her and this is her in control."


    "Oh anyway good job Miranda."


    "Thank you Kyle."


    Miranda responded with a shy smile and red cheeks which made Kyle just want to pinch them she was so sweet. The ''death watch'' were watching these kids with warm gazes while the infiltrators were feeling cold all over. What was wrong with these people they had just brutally killed two people and now it looked like they were on a date.


    "Aww aren''t they cute."

 133 Chapter 133 Night nigh

    "Aww aren''t they cute."


    Kyle looked over to the source of the voice and saw his uncle Harris standing with his father Landon, Isaiah was also standing behind Landon with his newer more youthful visage. He was sporting a grin like a school boy playing a prank and Kyle was curious as to what he was scheming.


    "Hi Harris, dad what are you doing out here?"


    "Well we had a report you were about these infiltrators and wanted to see what was going on but by the time we got here we only had time to watch the shot put and javelin events."


    Landon responded while smiling at his own joke while Harris rubbed the bridge of his nose and questioned if he should have stuck with Landon or just hired a dancing bear instead.


    "Dad I hate to tell you this but you were the only one who thought that joke was funny."


    Kyle said with brutal honesty Landon fell to his knees due to this strike and Miranda always the dutiful child came over and rubbed his back.


    "Its okay father in law no one can be funny all the time."


    Landon was surprised when Miranda called him father in law but felt another stab to his heart at the end of her sentence and looked to the other girls for support. Clara was looking at the stars and refused to be drawn into this conversation and Elena well.


    "When has he been funny before?"


    When he heard Elena''s comment Landon felt himself fall even further and with slumped shoulders his head fell to his chest.


    "FATALITY!"


    Was all Kyle could say at this point while Harris looked on in confusion but found this entire skit rather amusing. But he had something he needed to discuss with Kyle and Landon.


    "While I''m thinking about it can we call back Isaiah, I know we have his nephew here but we could really do with his knowledge and experience."


    Kyle looked at Landon, Landon looked at Isaiah and Isaiah merely smiled widely at this. He knew Harris was going to bring this up as he had disappeared for a while when his training began returning his youth to him and came back as his own nephew to reduce the questions that would be asked.


    "Take the prisoners away and use the ''slave seals'', I want to know what their objectives were and if they have any knowledge of the enemies plans."


    The leader of this ''death watch'' detachment saluted quickly.


    "At once sir."


    With that they hauled of the prisoners to add their distinctiveness to their own. Kyle waited until the enemy infiltrators had left and expanded his soul sense checking that there were no surprises waiting for them.


    Confirming the area was clear Kyle looked at Harris with a rarely seen serious expression on his face.


    "Harris there are some questions that we can''t answer unless you receive a seal. This is different than a ''slave seal'' as this will keep you from telling people our secrets but you cannot be commanded to do anything directly. If you accept the ''secret seal'' you will learn everything but the choice is yours."


    Landon on hearing what Kyle was saying decided to speak up.


    "Kyle he is your uncle and we should trust him."


    Kyle held up his hand at his father''s words.


    "While I don''t think he has any ill intentions he hasn''t been one of us for long enough and you know the seal also offers a degree of support and protection. Harris you should also know your son has already accepted this seal."


    Harris thought for a minute but he knew that if he was to truly return to the inner circle he would have to accept this seal and it seemed like he would join with his son if he did this and maybe it would help in mending their relationship.


    "I accept what do I need to do."


    "Nothing."


    With that Kyle waved his hand and a seal suddenly appeared and entered Harris shocking him. He knew that seals needed to be accepted on a deeper level but Kyle just launched his seal at him and he could feel it had taken root.


    "How did you do that I didn''t even have a chance to accept it."


    "That is one of the things you will learn but firstly you wanted to bring back Isaiah but I''m afraid we can''t bring back Isaiah."


    Harris felt his throat go dry at what Kyle had said. Isaiah had been a part of all his generations'' lives since they were born and while Landon was the closest to him they all looked up to him. Hearing they couldn''t bring him back filled his heart with trepidation.


    "Why can''t you bring him back? What happened to him?"


    Harris could feel he was almost crying. Even when his father was summoned to the capital to join the guardians and he knew that he wouldn''t see him for years or even decades Harris didn''t cry but the fear of losing Isaiah was real and raw.


    "We can''t bring him back because he''s standing right there and as to what happened he got younger."


    Kyle said with a smirk while pointing his finger at the smiling Isaiah who gave a little wave to Harris.


    "Toddles."


    Harris almost vomited at this, his emotions were in turmoil and these two were just happily messing with him.


    "You...I...Hate...You...What."


    Harris was so irritated he couldn''t even string a sentence together; the emotions he felt were now being trodden into the ground. He felt a hand on his shoulder and looked around and saw Landon looking back at him with sympathetic eyes.


    "It''s better to just accept and move on otherwise you''ll end up with an ulcer."


    Harris could see the understanding in Landon''s eyes and the brothers managed to find a bond in being the foil for this little comedy show. Taking a breath Harris calmed down and looked at Isaiah more closely.


    To his eyes Isaiah looked younger than he even appeared to be in his memories as a child. How was this achieved what had they done to cause this. Harris looked at Kyle demanding an explanation with his eyes.


    "I can understand your confusion but his revitalization and apparent return of youth is due to our new cultivation technique. This is the same technique our forces are using during their training so now you have taken a on a seal you can train in it as well. Father will you be able to bring Harris to the training field in the morning. Unfortunately most of us will miss training tomorrow due to the battle but class 12 will still be occurring so he can join them."


    Landon nodded his head while an almost imperceptible grin spread across his face.


    "Now I could do with an update has anyone gotten any information on James, has he joined the enemy forces or is he still standing away?"


    "We haven''t received any details from our patrols, it seems as though he disappeared during the battle at the tournament and no one has seen him since."


    Harris responded while shaking his head, it appeared as though this brother of his was as slippery as an eel and had vanished like a fart in the wind. While he was thinking this a figure suddenly appeared from the shadows next to him making him jump in fright.


    "What the hell are you?!"


    "Don''t worry Harris it''s just Faye. Do you have any details on James?"


    Faye looked at Harris quickly before turning her attention back to Kyle. He could see she didn''t like Harris probably because he had planned to take over his position but as Kyle had forgiven him she couldn''t enact vengeance so instead she decided to try and make him soil himself.


    "He has already left the city; before the lockdown was enacted he joined a small aristocratic family and escaped from the city."


    Harris was surprised by this oversight and asked Kyle about it.


    "Why didn''t you seal the city before moving?"


    "Simple those that wanted to leave wouldn''t help us and would only get in the way or aid our enemies. With them gone we know those left are either with us or against us no neutral parties to muddy the water."


    Harris thought this made sense so didn''t ask again.


    "Okay it''s getting late everyone get some rest."


    Kyle gave his final order of the day before walking off with his girls while Landon and Harris returned to their rooms to get some rest. As Kyle and the girls were walking away Clara just remembered something.


    "Kyle isn''t class 12 for the under 5''s?"

 134 Chapter 134 Ghost story

    "Kyle isn''t class 12 for the under 5''s?"


    Clara asked in confusion surely it would make more sense for Harris as a seasoned warrior to have some one on one training with one of their stronger members.


    "Yes I believe that sounds correct."


    Kyle responded with an innocent expression all he needed was for a halo to appear around his head with a *ping* and the image would be complete.


    "So why are you placing him in the class then?"


    "I may have forgiven him but it doesn''t mean I shouldn''t exact some revenge for him being a dick for years."


    Just like that the holy image was shattered and the horns appeared again. Kyle could change tack at the drop of a coin and no one would know where he was going next. Rather than take out some malicious or violent revenge which would help and serve no one he instead decided to use his powers to annoy.


    "*Yawn* Kyle can we go to bed soon."


    Elena interrupted with a cute yawn and an easily misinterpreted statement reminding them all that they should get some sleep to be ready for tomorrow.


    "Okay let''s get to bed; I''ll see you all in the morning."


    "Sleep well."


    "Night."


    "Hum sleep."


    Kyle separated from the girls once they entered the bastion. Kyle received his usual welcome from his mansion in the form of a warm flow of magic when he entered. Heading up to his bedroom he took a quick shower before climbing into bed.


    It had been a long day and with his teams patrolling at the moment and his bastion watching over him, he knew he could safely get some sleep. Kyle thought about all those people who try to be lone wolves and survive on their own and could only think to himself ''idiots'' before comfortably drifting off to sleep.


    *****


    In the imperial overseers office there was a meeting going on between Edith Miles, the overseer and the captain of the imperial garrison.


    "What the hell happened how have you not crushed them already, with the men and resources at our disposal this should have been an easy victory?"


    The overseer was enraged to apocalyptical levels. They had been receiving resources and finances from their contact in the capital for years. Creating the framework for this coup had taken so long because the other families were so deeply rooted.


    With the traitor in the Powell family and the inclusion of the cultists they should have been able to push the forces of all three families and with the addition of gangs and mercs it should have been a clean sweep.


    Suddenly the arrival of the Powell''s secret forces had disrupted their plans that had been so carefully laid and now they were the ones being pressured. The overseer was staring at Edith waiting for him to speak.


    Edith looked at the overseer and could barely contain his anger, he had been on the front line and it was his people who were directing this assault and were receiving the brunt of the counter attack but here he was being shouted at by this fop when he had done nothing but be a parasite.


    Taking a deep breath Edith steadied his thoughts as currently he couldn''t afford for the imperial garrison to turn against him. If they turned then any chance of coming out of this fur ball was almost nonexistent.


    "We had no knowledge of the secret forces the Powell''s had marshalled and with the current situation we still haven''t seen their full capabilities. If you can release the garrison to fight alongside us we can turn this situation to our favour."


    Edith responded in the hope of roping in the garrison only to be met with the stoic face of the garrison commander. The overseer spoke to the commander at this point.


    "Commander will you sally forth and complete your duty as a soldier under my command."


    The Commander looked between this pair of snivelling weasels with a sneer on his face before responding in a cold and clear voice which left no room for argument or even negotiation.


    "My duty is to protect the imperial person; in this case it is unfortunately you "your Excellency". But my men and I will not partake in any aggressive actions on aristocratic soil as per our oaths to the empire and the agreements between the empire and the noble houses."


    The commander was an honourable man and his duty compelled him to protect this worm of an overseer but he would follow his duty to the letter and wouldn''t assist them in aggressive conquest of assigned territory.


    "Damn it I''m the overseer you need to do what I tell you. I knew that bitch put you in charge of the local forces to hobble me. Just wait once this is over I''ll have you flogged for your insubordination."


    "Do as you will I''m sure you''ll be able to find someone in the barracks who will carry out your orders."


    The commander said the last sentence with a visible smirk on his face as he knew none of his men had any respect for this pair and was only still here as their orders demanded it.


    "I''m done with you Edith we need to come up with some way to gain the upper hand, have the cultists begin raiding the civilians. This should pull the forces away from their operation areas and will also give us time to organise our forces for a counter attack."


    The commander on hearing this could only lament the fate of the civilians in this city. Being at the mercy of cultists and these selfish pricks made him glad he at least had the strength to defend himself.


    As if to block them from doing as they pleases a messenger arrived seconds after the overseer had stated his plan. The messenger rushed to the side of Edith and whispered in his ear before leaving in a hurry.


    The commander on seeing this knew it was bad news and was curious as to what else this strange turn of events would show him. He was enjoying watching this pair scurry around trying to repair or recover their forces.


    "What happened why do you look so pale?"


    The overseer asked on seeing the look on Edith''s face. It was a mix of shock, anger and fear. Edith returned the overseer''s look before he repeated what the messenger had just told him.


    "All of the cultists have been killed, there are no survivors and we don''t know how they were defeated."


    "What! Who killed them and how can you not know how they were defeated."


    "It must have been the Powell''s but all the cultists were burned so we can only guess as to how the battle went."


    "Damn it okay let me think. We should use the mercs who just came along under the promise of looting. If we spread word about the wealth of the Powell family territory and pay some members to reinforce our statements they should all move towards their territory tying them up and we can use our forces to attack the other families."


    As he said this another messenger rushed into the room and like before whispered into Edith''s ear before rushing out. This time Edith looked confused and a little scared, the overseer seeing the difference wanted to know what was said.


    "So are you going to share your intelligence or do I need to guess?"


    The overseer stated with apparent irritation in his voice. This wasn''t going how he envisioned in the slightest and with something else getting in the mix his annoyance was at breaking point.


    "One of the merc groups has been annihilated and this has caused several other groups to quit the field, currently they are trying to leave the city but the gates are sealed and shielded so no one can escape."


    "Why would the destruction of one merc group make the others want to flee?"


    For once the commander actively joined the conversation as he was curious about this because hardened warriors wouldn''t quit without a good reason.


    The overseer looked at the commander but decided not to say anything and instead turned his attention to Edith wanting to get some more information.


    "The few survivors of the band have all been traumatised but it seems their band was attacked by ghosts and shadows. These shadows have been attacking our men previously but they seem to have taken an active role now.???


    *****


    Morning was rolling around and Kyle began to stir, feeling a weight on his stomach he figured Elena had crept into his room during the night and the bastion spirit hadn''t awoken him as this wouldn''t be the first time she had done this.


    Lifting up his bed cover so he could wake her up he spied the figure laying on him and saw eye''s looking back into his.


    "Oh hi."

 135 Chapter 135 Time for a road trip?

    "Oh hi."


    Kyle was looking down at the sleepy young face looking back at him, he was expecting Elena to be curled up on top of him as she''d done it before but today''s culprit was surprisingly Clara. She was quickly taking the first place as the calmest of his girls but then she did this.


    Rubbing her eyes Clara greeted Kyle with a smile before making her way up him and kissed him.


    "Good morning Kyle did you sleep well."


    Kyle was trying to distract himself so he quickly asked the first question that entered his brain.


    "Morning Clara why are you on me and not Elena."


    Clara smiled and looked to Kyle''s left. Kyle felt his eyes drawn to where Clara''s eye line directed him, there was Elena lying on her front fully Elena spreading and drooling on the pillows.


    "No pickles on my toast please."


    Kyle heard Elena mumble in her sleep with a smile on her face. Who has dreams about pickles on toast Kyle thought with a bemused expression on his face before looking back to Clara who wore an equally bemused expression before shrugging as she was used to her friends odd antics. Turning her attention back to Kyle she answered his question.


    "Elena has been hogging your attention so we decided that we would rotate our time with you to make it fair."


    "Okay so how was the schedule decided?"


    "Straws with the shortest straw going last."


    "So why were you sleeping on top of me?"


    "Well we agreed that whoever was lead on that day would get to be closest to you."


    "Okay so by what you just said you won''t cut each other out on your days but one of you would take the lead."


    "Pretty much, we think this would be the best way to prevent jealousy."


    Kyle sighed and realised how difficult having multiple girlfriends or lovers could be he turned his head to the right and saw Miranda curled up next to him and Kyle suddenly remembered something.


    "Wait didn''t you all go back to your rooms last night why are you here?"


    ???We didn''t want to be apart so we came back when you were asleep."


    Clara responded simply and Kyle couldn''t find any way to respond to this again so he simply decided to ignore it. Sitting up he moved Clara around him and deposited her on his bed before getting up and having a shower.


    By the time he was changed and ready the girls had all woken up and when he exited the bathroom they all entered together. Thankfully the shower and bath were large enough to accommodate all three and Kyle simply waited for them to exit.


    Shortly the girls were ready and had already brought a change of clothes with them so they headed down to have breakfast. There was a new addition to their table in the form of Harris who joined them for their meal before he was to join in with his training.


    During the meal Landon spoke with both Kyle and Harris while the others listened in on their conversation.


    "I received word Leonard and Lord Tor will be coming today to begin our war planning. The miles family and their allies pulled back last night but even though we are more powerful they outnumber us and we want to prevent them attacking a single group so we are proposing a mutual defence pact."


    "That makes sense how are they going to be guarded during this trip?"


    Harris asked as he knew that if they were attacked during these negotiations the alliance probably wouldn''t collapse but leadership may become a problem.


    "We''ll deal with security, Ash, Faye I want you on this."


    Ash was only sitting a couple of spaces down and gave a quick salute while Faye appeared from Harris''s shadow which almost gave him a heart attack again.


    "Why do you do that can you like wear a bell or something?"


    "That would defeat the purpose of my skills. Kyle my sister wishes to speak with you when you get a chance she will be here in about thirty minutes."


    "Thanks Faye and I''ll see your sister as soon as she gets here."


    Faye moved over and began discussing with Ash about the security they would need to provide with her girls scouting ahead and Ash''s men providing a wall of weapons around the delegates.


    Kyle was wondering what Lady Sparrow wanted to discuss with him, he didn''t think it was anything desperate as she had a signal stone to get his immediate attention if needed but as she was heading up his intelligence division so she probably had something to help with the current situation.


    During breakfast he received multiple reports about what had happened during the night. There were a few raids maid by both sides but overwhelmingly his and his family''s forces won these confrontations with minimal casualties.


    Kyle worried about the way this fight was happening as he knew the enemy was marshalling their forces to strike out in one fast movement. If Kyle was in their situation he would lash out at a single target lowering the number of opponents and freeing up resources for elsewhere.


    Luckily with the three of the families working together this would become incredibly hard but this may make the Miles family do something unexpected and that was where people could get hurt or killed.


    While Kyle was musing over this Susan plonked down in a seat next to him. She was looking at his girls and friends who were sitting a little away from him while he was speaking with Landon and Harris.


    "Yo brat give you a pickle for your thoughts."


    "Why a pickle and that''s the second time today someone has been speaking about pickles?"


    "Nothing wrong with a pickle. Now tell me what''s up?"


    "Just thinking about the Mile''s next move just wondering where they''ll hit and when."


    "Rather than just waiting for them to make a move keep them on the defensive. My advice is kick em in the balls and run like hell."


    "Not a bad idea but I''ll wait for Lady Sparrow to arrive before I decide what to do."


    "Cool want some senior company I don''t have anywhere I need to be."


    "It would be my pleasure."


    As Kyle and Susan were speaking Landon and Harris had moved away with Landon taking his brother to his first lesson with a grin on his face as he couldn''t wait to see what would happen. The war could wait for an hour or two while he watched his brother get beaten by some kids.


    It didn''t take long until Lady Sparrow arrived and sat next to Kyle, his girls and Bruno with Alena had returned and were sitting opposite him now. Lady Sparrow looked over them and once again felt the connection she felt with most of those who were part of Kyle''s forces.


    "Kyle I''ve managed to get some details of the enemies plans but the sources are....dubious I think would be the way to describe it."


    "What do you mean dubious?"


    Asked Clara clearly interested in the reason behind this choice of words.


    "Well we have contact with thieves within the city. One of these thieves was looting corpses from some of the earlier battle and managed to find battle plans on one of these bodies. I trust the thief as strange as that may sound but why was a soldier on the front lines with the plans?"


    Kyle thought about this and agreed this sounded strange but if this could help them he needed to hear the details.


    "Okay how about you tell us the details and we''ll decide from that what to do."


    "Yes that''s probably best. The details laid out in the plan show the route the enemy forces will be using and their target will be the Tor family as they are the weakest of the houses. The forces will be split into several smaller teams to move through the alley before they rendezvous near the Tor''s territory ready to attack."


    Kyle was digesting this information along with the others. This was a believable tactic given the current situation the problem was that to prove it they would need to look into themselves. The alleyways in question were to narrow and overhung to use the falcons to do proper reconnaissance and with ''steel lotus'', ''death watch'' and ''shadow hand'' currently already fully engaged they couldn''t spare the main forces to look.


    It was Miranda who spoke at this time.


    "We can''t leave this unchecked. If they are going to attack the Tor''s this would be problematic so why don''t we look into it ourselves?"


    Kyle thought this was actually their only option at this point and so readily agreed.


    "Yay road trip."

 136 Chapter 136 Breaking a prophecy

    "Yay road trip."


    Elena shouted with gusto everything was a game to her and why not.


    "Sorry Elena we need to be serious on this one, we are going to go poke around and if we can cause delays if we find the enemy but and this includes you Susan we are not going to fully engage. We''ll take a small contingent of the family guards with us but I don''t know these men''s fighting ability and I don''t want to risk our lives for this."


    Kyle brought Elena back down with a thud but she merely nodded while pouting slightly. Well she can always play next time. Susan however wasn''t happy with her characterisation.


    "Why was I included in that? I''ll have you know I''m an intelligent and independent woman."


    Kyle looked at her before looking to his girls.


    "Does one of you want to take this?"


    Clara decided to step up to the plate at Kyle''s prompting.


    "Susan don''t you remember yolo? How about wanting to get touched?"


    "Objection withdrawn, can we go before you think of something else to crush a girl''s spirit?"


    "At your age you shouldn''t be called a girl shouldn''t you be called a woman?"


    Elena put in the final dagger bringing the beast known as Susan down.


    "Well now that sorted lets round up the guards and head out I don''t know when they would plan to attack so I want to get there ASAP."


    With the Kyle led the way out followed by the rest of his team and a despondent Susan bringing up the rear.


    They headed to the barracks and Kyle spoke to the captain in charge and requested a contingent of 20 men in light scout armour as they would be moving at speed.


    Kyle''s team were kitted out with their own light armour and Bruno as the vanguard and heavy of the team didn''t particularly like this as he had become used to wearing his heavy armour but at least he had been allowed to bring his war hammer with him.


    After about 10 minutes the guardsmen arrived. They were equipped with the basic family guardsman armour and as usual were all carrying variants of great swords. Kyle again led the way and the team mounted up and headed to a stable near to where the rendezvous point should be.


    Riding in the front Kyle was thinking to himself about the information they had found and knew that this may be a trap but if the Tor family are attacked en masse then they wouldn''t be able to hold and if they fell it would leave both the Powell and Black families in an awkward position.


    As they approached the slum zone the buildings gradually got closer together until Kyle had to call the expanded team to dismount so they could keep distance between each other without getting crowded.


    They left five of the guardsmen to look after their mounts to proceed further into the sprawling slum. Moving in smaller units to again avoid crowding the people were looking around and paid attention to everything around them as they didn''t know when or even if they would be ambushed.


    This put everyone on edge and Kyle also expanded his soul sense to the limit in the hopes of picking up on the enemies before they were seen.


    "Well this is tense."


    Bruno said while looking down one of the dark alleys as they passed. All he could see down there was darkness and rubbish but no sign of any men. Kyle could see Bruno was losing focus already as he was relying on Kyle''s abilities to warn them of approaching danger.


    "Yep but keep your eyes open everyone I don''t want us to get caught out okay."


    "Aren''t you keeping an eye out though won''t you sense them before we see them."


    Bruno responded while the others also looked in his direction, Kyle sighed at this and explained the reason why he wanted them to keep paying attention.


    "Yes but for one I may not always be around and I don''t want you falling into bad habits, two you may notice signs of people passing which I may miss which has nothing to do with my senses. Do you understand now?"


    "Got it I''ll keep both eyes open."


    Bruno straightened up after this and began scanning the area looking for anything out of place along with everyone else.


    Going deeper and deeper the darkness from the close together buildings grew until it seemed almost as though it was approaching night rather than it being the morning and let''s not even mention the smell.


    Susan was walking along with her nose scrunched up and a look of distaste on her face. The guardsmen with them had been gradually thinning as Kyle was dispatching them in teams of three to cover more ground while they headed deeper along the main route.


    "Damn it where are these buttheads, I''ve just stepped in something I''d rather not talk about and ruined my boots."


    Susan finally said in exasperation as they hadn''t seen anything yet and she was beginning to become frustrated. Bruno and the girls were looking equally annoyed, if it was a straight up fight it would be fine but this wondering through dark alleys and roads with no real clue where they were looking for had begun grating on their nerves.


    Kyle was equally irritated because he felt that if there was a large group of enemies gathering they should have at least seen some signs by now but there had been nothing yet. Kyle began to think this was a bust but at least it wasn''t a trap.


    This thought had only just entered Kyle''s head when from up ahead he heard a loud bang followed by a flash. Kyle recognised this as it was a signal sent using an array similar to what he himself had used previously but this one was much simpler.


    By overloading a small array you would get a loud bang and the flash was from the magic in the array releasing the stored magic as light. Kyle believed this was similar to a flare and knew this was bad as they or their men must have been seen.


    "Start moving back, keep quiet and keep your heads on a swivel."


    Kyle said as he quickly looked behind them to check the way was still clear. Before he could do anything else the sounds of fighting began echoing down the alleys making it difficult to determine which direction the sound was coming from.


    It looked as though the signal wasn''t because they had been seen but instead one of the other teams must have been noticed eliciting the response. As they couldn''t identify the direction the battle was coming from Kyle decided to pull back and assess the situation before attempting to pull out the guardsmen.


    He didn''t get a chance to do more than think about it as a contingent of enemies appeared at the end of the road they were on. The enemies numbered around a hundred and even with their skills Kyle didn''t want to risk them getting swarmed in this small road with all the alleys surrounding them.


    "Pull back move it!"


    Following Kyle''s order they all turned and began running back with Kyle and Susan firing the occasional spell at the enemies following them. This kept them from closing in but they refused to leave them and hung around what was perceived to be the limit of their range.


    The team was switching out their members as they withdrew allowing different members to cover as they moved so different magic''s were fired in a continuous stream keeping the enemies away. As they passed alleys they began to encounter other members of their force who were running for their lives.


    These additions were pulled to the middle of the group with Kyle''s team creating a perimeter firing down those alleys holding back the enemies until they had passed.


    Eventually they came to a tee junction and just as Kyle was going to head to the left he saw Susan''s face. She was pale, shaking and appeared to be on the verge of tears.


    "Bruno, Miranda keep us covered Elena, Clara watch the sides. Susan what''s wrong have you been hurt?"


    Kyle moved to Susan who grabbed him and her tears began to fall. She looked nothing like the playful and happy Susan he knew and appeared to be nothing more than a scared little girl.


    "No, no, no, no this is it this is the place of prophecy. If we go left we die if we go right we die and if we go back we die. There is nothing we can do we have to accept our fate."


    As she said this Susan slipped to the floor and began weeping. She had believed what Kyle had said about her prophecy but she had been wrong and now they were all going to die here.


    Kyle heard what Susan said and thought for a moment before a wide smile appeared on his face. Susan looked at him and saw his smile and became angry with him.


    "Why are you smiling you, me and all these people are going to die?"


    "Oh I just think I understand how your gift works. So we can''t go back, left or right so that just leaves right up main street."


    With that Kyle looked at the wall behind him. It was part of a semi large building which would house several families like an apartment block. Kyle extended his soul sense to cover the whole building alone and found no one was there. They must have been evacuated earlier.


    Knowing that no one would be injured Kyle held up his hand palm forward and thought for a second. He couldn''t use fire or lightning magic because of possible fire so the best way to open the path was wind magic.


    He focused his mana into a tightly controlled sphere and when the pressure was as high as possible he unleashed this directed blast of hurricane force wind. The force of this blast was tightly contained and as it tore through the building Kyle raised his hand cleanly severing the building in half leaving a clear path for them to escape through.


    Susan saw this and her eyes went wide, she hadn''t even thought of this and with a sense of vertigo the prophecy was broken.


    Kyle grabbed Susan who was still sitting on the floor and threw her over his shoulder and led the way through the destroyed building With Bruno and Miranda still holding back the enemies.


    Once they reached the road on the other side Kyle dropped Susan unceremoniously on the ground and turned his attention to his new path. The Miles family force was making their way through and Kyle knew exactly what to do.


    Using wind magic once again he created a zone of negative pressure in the middle of the building. As the atmosphere rushed into this area it pulled both sides of the building in with it and with a resounding bang the building collapsed behind them taking the forces following them with it.


    Grabbing Susan by the hand he lifted/dragged her along with the others moving towards the Powell family territory. They exited the slums and ran into a large market square where the first thing they heard was.


    "Why didn''t you warn me you little bugger."

 137 Chapter 137 Prepping the ground

    "Why didn''t you warn me you little bugger."


    Kyle looked to the source of this exclamation and saw Harris alongside Landon. Harris was looking a little worse for the wear while Landon was sporting a relieved smile while his eyes kept darting to his brother with some amusement.


    "What''s wrong uncle? You do appear a little bedraggled there."


    "Wrong those little demons you trained kicked my ass, I haven''t eaten that much floor since my father first started training me."


    As he said this Harris began rearranging his clothes and dusting himself off. He was still wearing the robes that are preferred in this world while all of Kyle''s people and many of the guards were sporting clothing like his; this included his father who was also armoured.


    "Father why are you here and what happened to the conference?"


    "After you left Lady Sparrow contacted me and passed the information you were acting on. We also received additional intelligence that the Miles family seemed to be pulling out of several fronts and were heading this way so I grabbed everyone available and headed over."


    Kyle looked at the arrayed forces and saw his ''death watch'' was present while he could feel ''steel lotus'' was nearby. His forces were reinforced by a large contingent of the Powell family guards and there were also small teams from the Black and Tor families along with their leaders.


    "Do you have any idea of numbers? Due to the cramped streets we couldn''t get a clear count."


    "Currently we believe with the mercs and gangs they outnumber us at about 4 to 1 the gangs aren''t a problem but with the mercs they should have more second stage practitioners than we have as well."


    Kyle thought about this, they were in a bad place even with all 3 families joined together as they were. He could see the head of the Tor family was looking at him with anticipation and a little fear because if the Powell and Black families pulled back his family would fall quickly to the enemies'' onslaught.


    "Okay we need room to operate, we have magicians in our ranks and while most haven''t been trained in the same way as the empires magicians if we can give them the space they could turn the tide. I hate to say it but we need to raze a large area of the slum."


    When they heard this the family heads were amazed and fearful of this decision. Harris was thinking through Kyle''s reasoning and unfortunately couldn''t find fault. A magician''s advantage was range and with all the buildings cramped together this defeated this advantage.


    "What will we do about the people after this battle is done?"


    Leonard asked as he knew that if the people lost their homes there would be problems and many may just leave. If the city lost these workers it was possible for the economy to fail as well.


    "Once we take out the Miles family we will assign their housing to any displaced people and use the seized wealth to build them new homes. These won''t be shacks or the like but rather true homes and we will work to employ everyone so they can pay for these homes further down the line."


    The others couldn''t refute this as the slum district had always been a problem and if they were successful in rebuilding it they would have increased their cities citizens overnight.


    "Okay we''ll go with your plan but how are we going to take down the slums?"


    Landon asked although he had an inkling as to what his son would do due to having long tactical talks with him to help them both with their critical thinking.


    "We will use those mages with fire skills to burn through the slum. I checked as we were escaping and the slums are empty but we''ll keep the range close and I''ll be able to check ahead to see if there are any civilians are in the way."


    Kyle responded as Landon had suspected while Lord Tor had furrowed brows thinking about what Kyle had said.


    "How can you check ahead to see if there are any innocents in the way?"


    "Kyle is also a sorcerer and can direct his senses further than others. By the way what''s wrong with her?"


    Landon responded to the question but was then distracted by Susan who was looking into space and seemingly arguing with herself.


    "He broke it but it was double locked that shouldn''t be possible but he did it anyway. What is prophecy what is the meaning of life is it 42?"


    "I just broke out of a double blind prophecy and she''s a little shook up. Just leave here there she''ll bounce back soon enough."


    Everyone was no looking at him aghast they knew that prophecy must be followed and here he was saying he broke through it like it was nothing and even the empires former seer was affected by this so how could they not be.


    "I''ll explain about it later for now let''s form up and get on with this. I want a continuous burn with water mages containing and controlling the flames get moving."


    With Kyle''s command issued the ''death watch'' took point with their people assuming their pre arranged positions. This was one of the battle plans Kyle had run through with Ash before but that was for beast clearance but here it was going to be used for land clearance.


    Kyle stood in the centre with his team around him and the family heads standing behind and the rest of their forces behind them. Kyle looked over his people and saw they were ready willing and able, Ash was commanding the left wing and Dylan the right. Faye and her ''steel lotus'' were stationed clear of the clearance zone but were ready to move as soon as the opportunity arose.


    "COMMENCE!"


    Kyle shouted his command and his men focused their magic to their hands and began burning down what stood in their way. Gradually the army began moving forward and Leonards men began arriving in groups as he had sent a runner to call for reinforcement for what was shaping up to be the final battle.


    Kyle had decided to limit the number of people using magic at any given time so there would always be some rested and ready to fight. As they made their way into the slums the water mages were putting out fire and the earth mages were clearing the debris by using a wave of fresh compacted earth like an ice breaker moving the debris to the side.


    The control and application of magic shocked those present who hadn''t trained with them as they had been told of the destruction mages can cause but not of the skill they could use in the use of their powers but the few who had any dealings with mages knew these people were the exception rather than the rule.


    They were cutting a swathe through the slums until they reached a relatively clearer space towards the centre. Kyle conjectured this must have been a market area before the slums swallowed it. He directed his men to clear the as this would be a good place to make their stand.


    They weren''t subtle about entering the slums so the Miles family had to know where they were and what they were doing so rather than push further they would create a fighting ground on their terms and wait for the enemy to come to them.


    Once the area had been cleared it didn''t take long for them to see their enemies approaching. They were filtering from the alleys and Kyle had a choice to wait for them all to come out and attack or hit them before they had a chance.


    Kyle opted for the former because if they moved before at least the majority of the forces had emerged they may just retreat back into the warren of the slums.


    Edith and the Imperial overseer were amongst the last to appear with the garrison commander standing with the overseer. They were looking over the forces and could see a distinct difference between their respective camps.


    Their force was chaotic at best with people making their own units some further ahead than others and all wearing different armours, even the Miles family guards had differing equipment. Kyle''s people all were standing at attention with a small amount of difference between their armours based on their affiliations.


    As these two forces stared at each other waiting for the other to make the first move when a battle cry sounded out.


    "Hey f*ckers Daddy''s back!"

 138 Chapter 138 Genealogy 101

    "Hey f*ckers Daddy''s back!"


    A few people seemed to recognise this voice particularly Harris and Landon who became visibly pale at that utterance. Kyle looked around and then up and saw one of his falcons hovering above them with two people on its back.


    The man was nothing short of a giant, if Kyle was to guess he would say the man was closing in on 7 feet tall. He was covered in beast skins and carrying a massive double bladed war axe, he looked like he had escaped from some Viking saga.


    The woman on the other hand was smaller in stature but due to the size of her compatriot it was hard to tell. She was wearing what appeared to be a black mourning dress and had a cold and scary face.


    As Kyle was looking at them a sense of familiarity was felt by him until he saw the woman''s hand lash out fast as a rattlesnake and slap the back of the Vikings head.


    "Ouch what you do that for you crazy old witch."


    "Watch your language you old bastard there are children down there."


    "My language what about yours you old bat?"


    "You want to go I''ll kick your balls into next month!"


    The Viking immediately covered his groin with his hand and it appeared as though that wouldn''t be the first time this had occurred between these two.


    The imperial overseer saw these two and like Landon and Harris his face lost all colour and he began to stutter.


    "T..the B...Beast and t..the oh god it can''t be why is the widow here as well!!??"


    Edith didn''t know who these people were and seeing how they were acting he didn''t really care but the fear in the overseer made him pay attention and he asked the overseer about them.


    "Hey who are they and why are you so scared?"


    "They''re third stage cultivators but either of them is scary enough but both of them here could mean the destruction of all of us."


    "They''ve come from the capital so maybe they''re here to help us, you know maybe the situation has changed and our backer has come to our aid."


    "No not a chance, they may live in the capital but the emperor can barely control them and with both of them here it can''t mean good things."


    On Kyle''s side Landon was looking at them aghast before the words he feared to speak, the words he never thought he would say again passed his lips while a trembling Harris looked on.


    "Mum, Dad why are you back?"


    So his voice could be heard he had to shout this and with the silence around the battlefield at this moment everyone heard this. The overseer and Edith both quickly looked at their enemy''s side and the single thought in their minds was ''oh shit''.


    The overseer knew this pair operated fairly closely but he didn''t have any real contact with them so he didn''t know they were a married couple or what their origins were, he only saw them a couple of times and knew of their reputations.


    The widow appeared when she was an early second stage mage and was summoned to the capital. Due to her great power and fearsome mind she was unusually blackmailed from leaving the capital with threats made against her family or at least that was the rumour he had heard.


    The beast however was a warrior through and through, using his amazing strength and a brutal fighting style he had made all people fear him. He had a small group of guards personally trained by him who would follow him anywhere and would give their lives without remorse and a grin on their faces.


    "Yo brat what have you been f*cking around at look at the state you left my city in!"


    *Smack* once more around the back of the head with a fist being held in front of his nose.


    "I told you watch your f*ckin language."


    The Beast cowered at the fist in front of his face before sighing and jumping off the falcon which was still hovering around 100 feet in the air. Kyle watched as his ''grandfather'' plummeted down and did an attempt at a super hero landing.


    Unfortunately for the ground the Beast was much more powerful than it and he created a crater when he impacted. Pulling his feet out of the ground one at a time he climbed out of the crater and grabbed both Harris and Landon by the neck before drawing them into a hug.


    Kyle was sure he heard some bones at least creaking during this manly hug before the Beast let them go and looked around.


    "Where''s my grandson let gramps have a look at you."


    Kyle could only sigh and step towards his grandfather. Being this close to him Kyle realised how intimidating a presence his grandfather presented.


    "Hello grandfather I''m Kyle, Landon and Maria''s son."


    "Alrighty there boy you ain''t got a hug for the old man?"


    "Sorry I don''t know you and mom always to watch out for strange old men."


    "Why you little shit I''ve got half a mind *Smack*."


    It looked like while they were speaking the widow had landed the falcon and alighted from it and approached them.


    "Don''t talk to our grandson like that or you''ll be sleeping on the floor."


    "*Sigh* Yes dear."


    "Good now Kyle let me have a look at you. You''ve certainly inherited your looks from my side of the family. Your form is a bit unusual are you training as a mage, fighter or sorcerer?"


    His grandmother seemed very much like an old school teacher or maybe like one of those governess''s from those period dramas. Having her look at him like she could see through him would have been a little unnerving but he could see his grandfather over her shoulder and he had grabbed Landon and Harris in a headlock and was getting updated on the current situation.


    "Well with regards to my path it would be best to discuss that in private but publicly I''m a mixed fighter and mage."


    "Oh if you can train that fully you would be truly powerful. Oi old man stop playing with the kids and let''s get this sorted we can find out the situation once we deal with these scum."


    "Yes dear they wanted to hurt our family it''s time to show them the price."


    At this point the older generation seemed to change and with a scary focus they looked at the army arrayed before them. There was no fear or trepidation in their gaze rather it was a predatory hunger with which they surveyed their incoming victims.


    "Who is leading our forces?"


    The beast asked in a serious tone while quickly looking around. While some of the forces could do with some training he noticed a smaller group who must have been the elites were ignoring him and watching for Kyle''s lead.


    "Harris and I are leading the main force while Kyle is leading his special unit."


    Landon responded while the Beast raised an eyebrow at this. It was unusual for command to be split in two let alone in three but he decided to see how their tactics would unfold and would aid wherever it was needed.


    The widow was also surprised that they would give command of a unit to a child of Kyle''s age but when she saw the men around her grandson and the team of children around her grandson she realised the situation may be stranger than they originally thought.


    The other falcons that were with them also landed and deposited few more people amongst them. Leonard was crying when he saw his own father was amongst them while Landon greeted another old man who was the father of Harris''s wife.


    Harris was ashamed and couldn''t bring himself to greet him; Kyle put a hand on Harris''s shoulder and simply said.


    "You need to rebuild your relationships but now at least you have that chance."


    Harris nodded at this and greeted his father in law. Kyle looked over his newly expanded force and while it would be a rough battle with the addition of several third stage cultivators the scales were now tipped heavily in their favour.


    Edith and the overseer were know looking at this assemblage and could only think that they were screwed now. Edith was thinking of how he could save himself, if he threw all their forces in a suicide charge then he may have a chance to escape.


    The overseer instead was talking to his garrison commander or it would be better to say he was speaking at him.


    "You need to protect me no matter what you must do your duty do you understand me."


    The commander was instead looking at the beast with stars in his eyes. He was fan girling at his hero who he had seen battle before and he tried to get a place in his personal force but failed due to the harsh requirements.


    "Yeah, yeah I can hear you."


    "Hey if you guys aren''t coming we''ll move first!"

 139 Chapter 139 Kumbaya

    "Hey if you guys aren''t coming we''ll move first!"


    The beast shouted with gusto, Kyle was tempted to slap him around the back of the head but the widow got there first *Smack*.


    "What''d I do this time?"


    "They haven''t set their tactics yet let them sort it out themselves."


    "Oh right, okay lads get setup I want to get this over with and see my grandkids."


    Kyle could only face palm at this and just spoke quietly.


    "Wall formation, strongest units to the front rest on capture and clearance."


    When his command was issued there was a sudden and organised shuffle as the members of ''death watch who had been training with him the longest took the front row while the weaker members moved behind the line.


    Some of these weaker members were dragged by their unit leaders and they consisted of some of their recent acquisitions. These were kidnapped mercs who had only been training with them for a day or two.


    These new members were surprised when they were taken to safety as they had slave seals upon them and by any normal measure their new master should have thrown them at the enemy first to weaken them before his core members engaged.


    "Why aren''t we being sacrificed this doesn''t make sense?"


    One of them said in exasperation, even though he would not be engaging the front line and would be relatively unscathed bad leadership is bad leadership.


    "You aren''t looking at the big picture. You are now one of the Lord''s people even if it wasn''t by choice. You are too weak currently to affect the initial charge so you''ll be assisting and backing up those stronger than you."


    This was one of the Daryl''s they had each been given a new unit to lead during this battle as all they needed to do was capture the injured enemies and remove the dead while assisting the front line when needed.


    The new members who heard this were surprised at this attitude; even with the empires army they would protect their strongest members and throw the weaker members at any problem only when they were sure of victory would the leaders appear to claim the glory.


    There were exceptions to this like the beast who would rush in with his men but for the most part those of lower cultivation or civilian origin would be put in the meat grinder with only a few exceptional ones coming out on top.


    Kyle needed numbers and he knew that with his cultivation method all of his people could become strong but they needed time. He was looking at the enemy as if he was looking at a buffet. Even if they were injured or lost limbs they could still become his fighting force allowing him to create a new empire. Mwahahahahaha(evil laugh).


    Back to the battle Kyle''s force had arrayed themselves and were ready to go. Landon and Harris had also organised their men while Leonard had also formed up on one of the flanks covering any gaps.


    The widow was looking around trying to find a vantage point, as a mage she could turn the tide but she needed an overview to see where she was firing and to avoid collateral damage. In particular she could never forgive herself if she managed to hit her sons or grandson, her husband on the other hand that was a question best left unanswered.


    One of the members of ''death watch'' saw her looking around and realised what was happening so using his earth magic he created a pillar with stairs made from stone. The widow saw this and was amazed at the control and the fact there was another warrior/mage within her house.


    Nodding to the man she moved up the stone staircase and stood atop the pillar like some kind of mascot for the army. The beast saw this as well and nodded to himself thinking he would get some answers about this force once the battle was done.


    "Move out!"


    Kyle finally commanded once everything was in place, his force moved out in their wall formation as they moved forward they banged their weapons against their armour or shields. This was done in time with their steps and created a highly intimidating effect.


    The other forces looked at them as if they were mad but when they looked towards the enemy they could see the fear in their eyes and more than a few units stepped back in fear. Kyle''s team was still with him but he ordered the girls to move behind him and Bruno as they hadn''t trained as front line fighters while he and Bruno had.


    As they moved over the ground the enemy forces finally broke, it was impossible to tell who it was first but suddenly the enemy was rushing towards them issuing shrill war cry''s tainted with fear and resignation.


    They were using standard imperial tactics with the weakest force in this case the gangs moving in first followed by the mercs and finally the Miles family forces. The plan for this layout was to tire out Kyle''s forces before they committed anything they feared to lose and as a plus once the battle was over the Miles family should be in a stronger position than the remaining forces from their side allowing them to remove them and claim everything for themselves.


    There was no order or control to the enemy charge and Kyle could only shake his head before issuing a command.


    "Hold and Brace."


    His force stopped instantly and you could see his men all moved one leg back while those behind them did the same and placed one hand on their upper back. This was a tactic used in many ancient armies to reinforce a shield wall. In this case the wall would be made with magic but the physical impact still needed to be dissipated.


    The widow at this point began blasting the enemy, she specialised in water magic and she could have rained down water spears or arrows maybe she could have done something else flash but as they say sometime the simplest solutions are best. Simply put she created an effect like a water cannon and blew through the entire front row.


    This caused many enemies to fall back and collapse over each other it became a glorious mess at this point. The beast was grinning and shouted back to the widow.


    "I do love you dear."


    The widow had a rosy tint to her cheeks almost instantly before shouting back.


    "Shut up I did this for our kids not you so pay attention."


    The beast grinned wolfishly at this before he heard someone shouting from the enemy''s side. It was one of the officers who were commanding the gangs charge.


    "What the hell are you saying you crazy old bastard you...."


    He didn''t get a chance to finish what he was going to say as a blast of sustained water hit him and made him fly back over the approaching forces, clear out the square getting the widow a home run. Those closest thought they heard a mutter coming from the top of a pillar saying something along the lines of.


    "You can''t talk to him like that only I can."


    Kyle was thinking to himself ''what the hell is wrong with my family'' before grinning almost exactly like his grandfather. Landon and Harris both noticed this and could only sigh as it looked as though Kyle had inherited his grandfather''s personality at least in part.


    With the enemy now covered in water Kyle thought of a good way of decreasing their numbers before they even had to engage them. In all honesty he should have thought of this before but hey ho sometimes in the heat of battle you forget things.


    "All units Taser."


    With that command all those amongst his force including a newly revived Susan who could use lightning magic fired it with a low power. This wave of magic hit the stumbling enemies but unlike what most expected the lightning magic passed through them using the water as a conductor.


    The entire front row was shaking and shuddering while Kyle looked on with a grin. That was an eighth of the enemy down without even having to engage them while his grandfather was standing beside him looking grumpy.


    "You could have at least let me take a swing at em."


    "Why these people will join us once the battle is done."


    "What are you some kinda hippy cut your hair you damn beatnik!"

 140 Chapter 140 Men of culture

    "What are you some kinda hippy cut your hair you damn beatnik!"


    Kyle looked at his grandfather before letting his eyes move further up inspecting the top of his head.


    "Nah I''m going to enjoy my hair while I can, I don''t know if I''ll start losing it like you are. You''re getting a bit thin on top there desert head."


    The beast immediately dropped his axe and used both hands to check his hair, feeling for any thinning with undisguised panic in his eyes.


    "My hair my beautiful hair it''s not leaving me is it no, no it''s still as thick and lustrous as it''s always been."


    The beast''s eyes then changed from panic to anger looking at his own grandson like he had been betrayed.


    "Why you little how could you look at what you''ve brought me to."


    "Look bongo head we''ve got work to do so strap on a wig and let''s get busy."


    Everyone was now staring at this grandfather grandson duo and were surprised by the lack of respect Kyle was showing to the old man and those who were aware of his reputation feared he would explode.


    The beast himself was thinking internally ''Kyle reminds me of some of the other vets I speak to in the capital'', which was a strange thought in itself as the insults and hazing that he was receiving didn''t feel wrong or out of place when it was coming from Kyle.


    "I''ll get back to you, now about these pansies. RIGHT YA BITCHES LET''S BE HAVIN YA!!"


    The beast shouted out this last part and unlike Kyle''s trick of infusing mana into his words so it would gently reach everyone''s ears the beast merely bumped up his volume using mana also causing the air in front of him to be disturbed and blast forward like a gale.


    The enemy line that was currently facing him felt a sense of dread for if his voice was that powerful what would a strike from him be like? There was suddenly a shuffling amongst the line as some were pushed forward and others tried to retreat behind the line.


    "Hey you''re stronger you go first."


    "Age before beauty and I need to look after my face."


    "You''re still a virgin at this age your life is already over."


    "Oh damn I stubbed my toe I need to see the medics."


    Various other excuses were heard and Kyle could distinctly see a vein pulsing on his grandfather''s head, it looked as though Kyle''s teasing had hit a nerve and the beast wanted to take out his irritation on those who planned to attack his family.


    Reaching down slowly he grasped the shaft of his axe and took it in a double handed grip before stepping forward twice. As his foot reached the floor he swung his axe, to the men in front this seemed strange as he wasn''t even swing the axe fast. To Kyle''s senses however he could pick up on the pure amount of mana flowing with this strike.


    Mana was fully surrounding his grandfather like a cloak and was imbuing the axe with energy. The reason the axe appeared to be moving slowly was because of air pressure building up on blade, suddenly with a snap the blade accelerated and the air that had become compressed was launched forward in a fine line.


    Kyle could do something similar with wind magic, but in his grandfathers case this effect was caused simply by strength both physical and magical with no direct control. The slice of air flew forward and hit a section of the line.


    Most of the men at the front had shields and they were all at least partially raised. Kyle was expecting that when this wind blade hit the line it would cut through; contrary to his expectations when the air hit the line several shields deformed and almost folded in while the men holding them were blasted back into their compatriots.


    This disrupted the line creating an opening which the beast fully intended to exploit. Rushing for this weakness the beast began smiting his foes with great vengeance and furious anger. Kyle was watching as his grandfather didn''t even use the blade, instead he was using the face of the axe like a bludgeon and where he swung people began flying through the air.


    The beast had taken what his grandson had said to heart and rather than just kill these beasts he would leave them to serve his family instead. This didn''t mean he wouldn''t be a little heavy handed however, so there were people flying through the air with the greatest of ease only the landings needed a little work.


    The ''death watch'' weren''t slouches however and as the beast hit the line they were already moving. Hitting the remnants of the line the ''death watch'' hit like a tidal wave, pushing the line back injuring many before halting and reinforcing their standing before pushing forward again.


    With this concerted and sustained strike the enemy line began to fold in with the flanks pulling in around the beast and ''death watch'', this was a mistake however as when they collapsed in they were met by the Powell and Black family forces sweeping in over the flanks.


    The family forces weren''t concerned with keeping these men alive and began butchering them. The widow was also firing into the rear lines disrupting their attempts to reinforce or aid their men. It was a glorious mess; the beast was still swinging his axe sending any who approached flying, Kyle and Bruno were front and centre pushing with the rest of the men forcing the enemy back into each other.


    Behind Kyle''s line the disabled enemies were being hauled out of the way and being restrained by those following behind. It looked like a conveyor belt with Kyle''s line stepping over the crippled and disabled enemies and them subsequently being dragged away to waiting carts to go for processing.


    This sounded brutal and maybe harsh for good reason it was, but the alternative was to simply kill these men and Kyle needed more men to continue his plans. Finally the gangs broke with more and more surrendering.


    Kyle''s people were taking prisoners and while the family forces didn''t want to they accepted Kyle''s leadership in the end and they also passed on those that were surrendering to Kyle''s reserve forces.


    With the gangs cleared Kyle was now looking at the mercs. Kyle was looking along this much more organised line with almost glowing eyes as these were the men he really wanted in his forces, they would boost the numbers of the ''death watch'' which given the current situation were sorely undermanned.


    The beast was also looking at this line but he was cautious in his appraisal. After seeing Kyle''s forces he knew they would win but against the seasoned mercenaries he feared the numbers they would lose in this conflict.


    Kyle however had an ace up his sleeve so when his forces began forming up ready for the next push; he simply turned to his right and said.


    "Now please Faye."


    Faye suddenly appeared and used a simple flashing glyph to signal the go for ''steel lotus''. After his fun with the haunted house, Kyle had been thinking of ways to use magic more creatively. Working with Faye they quickly came up with a plan.


    From the shadows between the buildings, multiple shadow tentacles came flying out, latching on to arms legs and even torsos. The mercs closest to these shadowed areas panicked with some attacking these tentacles and others scrambling to escape. This attack was largely useless but the effect on the mercs was for all to see, as their line collapsed with men running in every direction.


    "MOVE IN MOP EM UP!"


    Kyle shouted making his men jog across the open ground to engage. The beast was shocked by this development as he was expecting a pitched battle, but with a simple trick Kyle had broken the defences allowing them to move in almost unimpeded.


    There were a few holdouts but most surrendered without a fight allowing themselves to be disarmed and bound. While the shadow constructs were able to grab people and trip them up, they had almost no real strength and if the men had been calm they would have been able to break free easily.


    Kyle was pleased the mercs had surrendered as there was no one more pragmatic than a merc and even serving Kyle was preferable to being devoured by shadow beasts. Plus if the opportunity arose they may be able to escape. This last thought was quickly proven false as when they left the battlefield they were placed in the care of ''shadow hand'', who were not above torture to maintain order.


    The beast was looking at Kyle before he said to him.


    "You like tentacles a little too much for someone your age".

 141 Chapter 141 No retreat you may want to surrender

    "You like tentacles a little too much for someone your age."


    Kyle looked at his grandfather with equal parts exasperation and annoyance but before he could do anything the beast was blown out of his view by a jet of condensed water. Kyle looked back at his grandmother who shouted to the beast.


    "I can''t hear what you''re saying but I know it''s nothing good so take this as a pre-emptive punishment."


    The beast was busy picking himself up and straightening his furs before he turned to his wife. Kyle was however impressed that even during this surprise the beast never dropped his axe.


    "What you don''t even know what I said and I''m already in trouble for it? At least wait until you know what I said!"


    Once this sentence dropped he received another blast and Kyle could only close his eyes and rub his forehead. Surely the beast should have expected that when he all but admitted he had said something he shouldn''t have.


    "Bruno quick question do you want to swap families?"


    Kyle asked his best friend with an imploring look. Bruno looked between the beast and the widow before thinking about the rest of Kyle''s family.


    "Um how about no I think I''d prefer to hold onto my sanity."


    "Yup thought as much but can you at least adopt Susan?"


    "What you talkin about Powell?"


    An irate Oompa Lumpa appeared in his view; Kyle looked at Susan before looking at his grandparents who were currently arguing loudly in the middle of the battle field, while everyone else was watching in incredulity.


    "I''m just thinking that I''ve now got two more insane third stage cultivators to deal with, I''m afraid that I can only deal with so much crazy."


    Kyle responded with a slight smirk on his face. Susan puffed up her cheeks at this before responding.


    "Says the kid who has uncovered lost history, created a new cultivation method, advanced alchemy, blacksmithing and arraymanship. Also let''s not forget training a new force, beating the hell of an existing noble house and somehow getting said third level cultivators from the capital in less than 2 weeks."


    Once Susan had finished her tirade Clara stepped up, Kyle thought he might get some backup at this point but Clara simply said.


    "You know she has a point."


    "Fine, fine everyone get ready we''ve got the Miles to deal with now."


    Everyone turned their attention to the front and saw the final hurdle in front of them. The Miles family forces were watching all of this happening and knew there was nothing they could do to halt this momentum.


    Edith and the imperial overseer were still waiting at the rear of their combined forces not knowing what to do.


    "Should we pull back, I thought the mercs and gangs would at least be able to buy us time but they couldn''t even get us an hour."


    Edith said while looking at the overseer, for his part the overseer was keeping an eye on the widow and beast because in his opinion they were the most fearsome and worrying members on the opposing side.


    "There''s no point in pulling out now, you''ve played your hand and lost. I hope you at least go down with some dignity, your son Raith is safe in my manor as they won''t risk confronting my garrison."


    The overseer was supremely confident that the Powell''s and other noble houses wouldn''t try to attack him; this was due to the oaths they had taken as members of the empire. As before oaths are considered sacred and no honest family would risk being vilified by breaking one.


    The garrison commander looked at this pair and his hand strayed towards the hilt of his sword. He really hated these scum, but as he had also taken an oath in service to the empire he couldn''t bring himself to betray it.


    The overseer could see his commander''s struggle and couldn''t help but think that he would always win in the end because good people are just dumb.


    Kyle himself was planning his next move; the Miles family were arrayed in a loose arrow formation. Once the battle begins their formation will release as cultivators, particularly at high levels don''t work well in large groups. Kyle was banking on them operating like this so his people could pick them apart without many casualties.


    The beast and widow finally stopped bickering and the beast was raring to go. Before he could move forward again Kyle held him up.


    "Wait up old man not all of them need to die. I need to separate out those who haven''t done anything from those who have."


    "Okay I don''t like it but this is your battle, but what about those who are guilty in your eyes?"


    "Those you can kill em, skin em and use their skulls to drink your cocktails sound good?"


    "Yup I''m happy with that."


    Neither Kyle nor the beast kept quiet as they were talking and those around them began laughing. It was too far for the Miles family forces to hear themselves, but they did see as the allied forces began laughing at them.


    The beast was now eyeing them up while checking his axe blade with his thumb and sporting a large grin on his face. This made those who fell under his gaze worry and more than a few felt their butt holes clenching.


    "By the way gramps don''t delete Edith or the overseer as we need to deal with them."


    "Who''s Edith?"


    "Oh he''s the family head of the Miles family."


    With this little bit of trivia the beast felt his eyebrows almost disappear into his hair line and just thought to himself ''the things parents do to the kids *sigh''. Kyle needed to address the enemies and thought what to say for a minute before stepping forward.


    "OKAY YOU MAGGOTS, YOU CAN SEE WE ARE GOING TO DELETE YOU. NOW HERE IS MY OFFER, THOSE OF YOU WHO HAVE NOT ENGAGED IN ****, SLAVERY, MURDER OR ANYTHING SIMILAR CAN LEAVE THE FIELD. YOU WILL BE INVESTIGATED BUT IF FOUND INNOCENT YOU WILL JOIN WILLEM. YOU HAVE FIVE MINUTES THEN WE WILL BEGIN."


    Kyle stepped back after shouting this and waited. His forces were calm and waited for the outcome while the other allied forces were surprised. Leonard approached him to have a quiet word before the battle began.


    "Kyle are you sure that''s a good idea."


    "Yup not everyone is involved with their perversions and crimes, they have this opportunity to live otherwise they chose to die. There is nothing more we can do."


    With that Kyle continued to watch them to see who many if any accepted what he offered. It would be hard for some members to agree, but Kyle intended to make Willem a regent of one of the cities he would conquer or reclaim once they began expanding and he would need assistance.


    As they watched a group made up of outer family members, on the left flank broke rank and exited to the side of the field. As they left members of ''steel lotus'' suddenly appeared and took custody of them. They were held at blade point but nothing else was done and they were escorted away.


    This opened the flood gates and various units began leaving. Edith couldn''t stand this as with a sentence Kyle had begun to break down his family. As he saw a group near him begin leaving he took his sword and rushed the leader of this group.


    Before the leader could react Edith cleaved him from behind and the crushing force of this strike caused his head to explode out showering those near him in gore and blood.


    "ANYONE WHO RUNS OR RETREATS WILL MEET MY BLADE NOW ATTACK!!"


    Edith had finally lost it but as he was the most powerful member of the family his forces couldn''t resist and instead chose to attack as at least there might be a chance they would be captured.


    The beast was a bit disappointed on seeing the enemy leaving the field but with Edith''s threats and violence they had begun moving forwards once again. So with a smile he stepped forward ready to engage them.


    As the forces saw the first one to move forward was the best they began splitting and planned to go around him as no one wanted to engage him. He was now getting really annoyed and finally snapped.


    "If you p*ssies aren''t coming to me I???ll come to you."

 142 Chapter 142 Where it doesnt shine

    "If you p*ssies aren''t coming to me I''ll come to you."


    While the beast was antagonizing the Miles family forces Kyle decided to address his men.


    "We''ve given them every chance to surrender or change, the remaining family forces against us are our enemy. If one of these people survive our mission has failed, capture Edith *heh* and the imperial forces alive we''ll deal with them specially."


    The beast on hearing this got a happy feeling in his chest, with a happy grin he gave up on antagonizing those in front of him. Slowly the beast rotated the head of his axe until the blade was pointing at the miles family forces.


    A feeling of dread spread amongst the Miles family forces as the whole feeling of their enemy changed at this point. With Kyle''s command all attempts at reconciliation were done and the full bloodlust of Kyle''s force was on display.


    Kyle''s theory about battle intent and bloodlust was that people developed a battle speed, where their mind shifted to a more primitive and brutal state allowing them to do things they wouldn''t normally do.


    This intent washed out from his force and was equally matched by the beast. He was in tune with this battle speed hence his nickname, when he felt a wash of this intent sweep over him he basked in it like he was home.


    "Good boys now let''s f*ck these b*tches up!"


    For once there was no action taken by the widow to his language, they had an agreement that he could use his colourful language in battle situations like these. This agreement seemed fluid however as sometimes she would smack him when he thought he was in the clear.


    "Hey you inbred, hillbilly, straw sucking, f*ckwits prepare to die!"


    And it looked as though the widow was even more inventive in her language when she wanted to be.


    "CHARGE!"


    Finally the battle was engaged, once more the beast led the charge, using the same tactic as he did previously, he swung his axe crippling and maiming the front line allowing him to close in and engage them.


    Using the blade of his axe he became a whirlwind of death, there was a clear area around him now littered with body parts and broken equipment. The Miles family forces tried to move around him while their strongest members tried to find an opening.


    While their concentration was on the beast Kyle and his men closed in as well, hitting the now disrupted lines hard and almost simultaneously along the entire front. This strike made a terrible noise before the Miles forces began to buckle and take a step back.


    Kyle''s forces had been trained to operate as a unit, with the strongest at the front while being supported by those behind. This allowed them to exert force on their enemy greater than expected, with the enemy line falling Kyle''s forces began to break them down with the stronger enemies having to engage a couple of enemies at the same time.


    Kyle encountered his first second stage enemy just after the first contact. This man was considered a good swordsman amongst his own people, seeing Kyle''s katana the swordsman believed it would be easy to break this thin weapon.


    The swordsman moved in and swung a large overhead strike with his bastard sword, Kyle sidestepped allowing the blade to pass him before slashing to the man''s side opening a wound just below his ribs.


    The swordsman growled in pain before trying to do a lateral swing and bisect Kyle. Kyle saw what the man was doing and took a small leap up; as the sword swung underneath him he used this as a platform and leapt up high while doing a front flip.


    Those who saw this all had similar reactions.


    "What the hell!!"


    "What''s he doing??"


    "Is the circus in town?"


    As the swordsman lost balance due to Kyle using his sword as a kickboard Bruno was there. While the swordsman was exposed and unable to pull back his blade Bruno swung his great axe taking the man''s right arm.


    The swordsman barely had time to register the strike when he heard a noise from above him.


    "You who!"


    Looking up the swordsman was greeted with a katana coming down at ridiculous speed due to Kyle''s flip. Kyle''s blade passed through the man''s face and bisected him. As Kyle landed he immediately moved to the left while Bruno had moved to the right.


    The swordsman''s body fell apart allowing blood and viscera to explode out. The Miles forces that were nearest got drenched in their former commander. This obscured their vision and also slowed down their mental process for a moment.


    In this moment Kyle and Bruno moved into them and began their slaughter, in this opening Clara, Miranda and Elena also moved. Using the magic they trained in they attacked. Using fire, lightning and light magic they opened up another clear area.


    The widow saw these three and how they backed up Kyle and Bruno. These girls were powerful and seemed to compliment Kyle and she wondered what the relation between them was. These thoughts were for another time however so she began using her magic to assist.


    Rather than using large scale magic which may damage their own forces, the widow began using water lances and compressed spheres of water to disrupt or injure the Miles family forces.


    Landon and Harris arrived on one flank while Leonard arrived on the other and also engaged in their battles. While their forces weren''t as quick to break their enemies they were making progress with minimal casualties as the strongest of the enemy were already engaged with Kyle and the beast.


    The beast for his part was roaring and chasing down the strongest he could find. Swatting away those he considered weaker he was instead hunting the field to find a worthy prey. Those that survived this initial contact were quickly dispatched by Kyle''s men who were following and reinforcing behind the beast which kept him from getting swarmed.


    Edith and the overseer were shocked seeing this level of brutality. They knew the beast was a maniac, but they didn''t expect Kyle and his people to also reach this level of violence which was far beyond that which any standing army could achieve.


    Kyle had let his people off the leash, while they still followed their training they also had been taught that by people equally respecting and fearing you it could save a lot of problems. Even the girls had learnt this lesson and while they may need help afterward, during the battle there would be no hesitation.


    This is also where the link from the seals they all had would come into play, as they would feel the support and care for those around them at all times. This was another overpowered ability but one which was more subtle in its use and function than others.


    The enemy forces began to collapse in on themselves, making a smaller ring of steel in the hopes of protecting themselves. Some even began to attempt to surrender but Kyle''s forces had received their orders and killed them without pause.


    The injured enemies who were behind the main charge, also received no relief as those who previously handled the prisoners, now killed the remaining wounded and took away their own injured for treatment.


    With the enemies whittled down to Edith''s personal guard and the overseer with his garrison Kyle called a halt. Receiving the command Kyle''s forces immediately disengaged and stepped back. Ash and Dylan had to grab the beast and drag him away as he wanted to carry on.


    "What ya doin ya bastards they''re still standin."


    The beast was almost ready to attack his own people at this point, but luckily the widow was there and used her magic to dump a torrent of water over his head.


    "Let them deal with this dear."


    She said to the beast with narrowed eyes. The beast seeing his wife''s look took the path of wisdom and stood down. Edith and the overseer were standing there not knowing what was happening. Currently the overseer had more men than Edith but he knew that he would lose if the battle continued.


    Edith had his fists clenched at this point and his men were standing at the ready. These men had all taken a life oath to protect him so he didn''t fear betrayal. These men were raised from orphans to be his final defence and sacrifice if needed.


    Kyle looked at these men and knew they had been brainwashed to the point they were nothing more than puppets for Edith to move and manipulate as he saw fit. Raising his hand Kyle created his magic and then unleashed it.


    Everyone was shocked when suddenly sharp spike of some dark stone appeared form the ground. These spikes were all aimed at the crotch region of these suicide guards. This was not for some weird reason or fetish, it was simply because this area was the most lightly armoured allowing the spikes to pass through almost unimpeded.


    All of Edith''s remaining guards were now skewered and raised of the ground with some having the spike coming out of the top of their heads. The imperial garrison looked at this with horror and one even whispered.


    "The impaler."


    Before he shut up and looked away. Kyle released his mana and the spike broke apart allowing the guards to drop to the floor. Edith looked at them before looking at Kyle in fear. He knew that if Kyle attacked him like this he would have no chance.


    "I call for an honour duel!"


    Edith shouted this out in desperation, if he could at least engage Kyle in an honour duel he could at least have a chance of killing him.


    "I accept."


    It wasn''t Kyle who responded however, Landon stepped forward with his sword at the ready. Landon had been engaged in battle similar to how Kyle had been, but with the cultivation technique he now used his stamina had already recovered.


    Edith didn''t expect Landon to step forward at this point as to be honest he had almost forgotten him. As the head of the Powell family it was his place to accept or refuse the duel. Then from out of nowhere the overseer piped up.


    "I demand you cease this illegal aggression right now."


    "Why don''t you shut the f*ck up, you little f*cking rat weasel before I shove a melon where the sun don''t shine!!??

 143 Chapter 143 Weenie Roas

    "Why don''t you shut the f*ck up, you little f*cking rat weasel before I shove a melon where the sun don''t shine!!"


    Everyone froze as this string of obscenities was spewed forth, people were looking between each other unsure of if they should laugh or wince. Due to these insults being delivered by a third stage cultivator it was entirely possible a melon enema would be successful.


    "Damn."


    "Holy hell."


    "What no lube?"


    Were some of the comments that came from the surroundings as they decided they could laugh at the overseer''s expense. For the overseer''s part he was spluttering and had a bright red face at this insult.


    "How dare you, I am his majesty''s representative. If you don''t know my family name is.."


    "I don''t give a flying f*ck now shut up before I chop off Mr Happy and have a weenie roast, but looking at you there wouldn''t be much for dinner."


    *Mike drop*


    Kyle was watching this with a big smile on his face; it looks like his grandparents were really good at insulting their enemies. Kyle thought for a second before he spoke.


    "Sorry gramps but granny has better insults than you. Damn granny can I just ask you don''t aim that my way anytime soon."


    The beast had also been watching this; he was usually on the receiving end of his wives brutal wit. This time however she was legitimately angry which caused her to use bad language, or perhaps worse language may be more accurate.


    "Yes dear I think it makes more sense to aim you at the enemy and they may just kill themselves if you insult them like that."


    While the beast may receive the brunt of his wife''s acerbic wit, he also loved her dearly and was always proud when she put down those who opposed him. The widow became slightly red at her husband and grandson''s joking.


    "Listen you two, if you keep this up you''ll be in trouble now get to work. I''ll keep an eye on this pile of human offal."


    Kyle and the beast were grinning before turning back to Edith and Landon, who were standing in a circle formed by Kyle''s men. They hadn''t moved and were instead watching the widow cutting off the overseer''s balls with nothing but words.


    Regaining their minds they turned back to each other. Edith was still carrying his bastard sword (rather fitting) while Landon was using his long sword. This was the same long sword Kyle had forged for him several years ago. In the interim Kyle had re-forged it several times as his technique and control became better.


    Edith was standing at mid guard with the hilt of his sword at his waist and the blade rising at about 20 degrees. This would allow him to switch to a low or high guard as needed. Edith had been taught in the empire''s basic style and he was intending to hit Landon in a contest of strength once their blades made contact.


    Landon was also standing at mid guard but the hilt of his sword was closer to the left side of his hip with the blade angled slightly across his body. They watched each other looking for a twitch or tell that would let them know when the other planned to move.


    As if given a signal both moved to each other quickly. Edith raised his blade over his head as he approached and swung aiming for Landon''s right shoulder. Landon quickly shifted his hold on his blade to his right hip with the blade pointing left and raised it in one fluid motion.


    This was a standard guard Kyle had taught and rather than hit and retreat or push, this action would allow the enemy''s blade to slide along your own. This would also leave the enemy open to a counter attack.


    As Edith and Landon came into contact Edith was surprised by Landon''s move and he couldn''t control his blade as it slid along Landon''s blade before striking the ground. Edith had fully committed to this strike and with his full power behind it he couldn''t stop.


    Once Edith''s sword had passed him by Landon stepped in and then around Edith hitting him with his own shoulder. This strike coupled with Edith overextending caused him to stumble. Landon completed a pirouette slicing around with his blade aiming at Edith''s thigh.


    Feeling a slight bite at the end of his sword, Landon knew he had made light contact opening a small would on Edith''s thigh. This wasn''t a deadly wound but it would slow him down a bit. Edith made a wild swing aiming at Landon''s mid section.


    After training with Kyle this strike seemed slow and clumsy, as the blade approached Landon took a step back and raised his own blade catching the underside of Edith''s blade. This strike caused Edith''s blade to lift over Landon''s head.


    Landon used this opportunity and tried to lunge at Edith''s chest. Edith leapt back while trying to return with his own sword. Landon had also tried something similar when training before hence he knew not to over commit to the lunge and was able to turn into the strike.


    Locking their guards Landon was able to pull Edith and his blade around his centre of gravity taking Edith off balance, until he let go of his blade and rolled over the floor. Landon flicked his sword and Edith''s blade flew over to one of the ''death watch'' who caught it by the hilt.


    This would be a good memento for Landon and as this man was one of the people who called him a friend the ''death watch'' member decided to return it to him later. Landon approached the now unarmed Edith who looked up at him from the ground.


    "I surre...."


    Edith never managed to finish this sentence as Landon drove his blade through his heart. Edith couldn''t believe the good and naive Landon Powell would kill him once he was disarmed. It seemed as though everyone had been influenced by Kyle.


    After Kyle had got over his first kills he had begun to preach his philosophy of deterrence. "Be good when you can but leave no enemy behind". This idea had been fully accepted by his forces and family as they understood that their ruthlessness would save them problems later on.


    The overseer winced slightly when he saw Edith fall before sneering in the same breath. Dismissing this little piece he focused back to saving his own skin. He looked at the imperial garrison and seemed to draw strength from the men standing around him.


    "Okay so now you''ve killed the head of a noble house. Once I return to the capital I will report your transgression to the emperor."


    The overseer stated this with a sneer as if he expected those around him to fall to their knees in fear and reverence. Kyle looked at his father and uncle before turning to look at his grandparents. His father and uncle seemed supremely unconcerned at this while his grandparents looked thoughtful.


    "I''m so sorry I didn''t realise you could see the emperor so easily."


    Kyle said while speaking in a monotone like he was working at a call centre. All his people began snickering at this and even the garrison commander had a smirk on his face.


    "What are you laughing at, I can pass my report to my section head and it will be with the emperor in less than a day."


    The overseer said with irritation, this isn''t how people are supposed to react when he invoked the emperor''s name.


    "Hum okay I have another question then, when was the last time you saw you section head."


    The overseer balked at this as he went red, not in anger but in shame. He was simply another cog and he hadn''t even been in contact with the capital in the last few years. As long as they received their taxes they didn''t care.


    "Oh and just to check you do know the northern territories are about to get cut off from the rest of the empire?"


    The overseer''s eyes widened as Kyle said this, he of course knew what the empire was planning but these hillbillies shouldn''t have a clue. The overseer couldn''t hold Kyle''s sight and looked to his side at the people there and saw Susan smirking at him.


    This made sense as she must have given Kyle and his family knowledge about what was to come. The imperial garrison however was restless at what Kyle said with the commander looking at the overseer in anger.


    "We are going to be cut off are we?"


    He asked but his eyes showed he believed what Kyle had said. Thinking back on some of the staff changes and military movements that seemed strange at the time made sense now. It looked like the empire was fully intent on abandoning them.


    Kyle looked at the commander and felt pity for him as he was just a soldier.


    "Commander why are you still following this ferret?"


    Kyle asked with genuine curiosity as the details he had gained from ''shadow hand'' and ''steel lotus'' showed this was a good man. It didn''t make sense that he would follow the overseer blindly.


    "I gave an oath to the emperor and unfortunately that oath compels me to protect this drivel."


    "Hum well what did your oath state what are the words?"


    Kyle asked hoping he could find a way to release this man from his oath.


    "I give my life to the empire; I will follow all commands given by the emperor or his regent. The emperor then responds that he will protect and lead those in his service to honour or death."


    Kyle thought about this wording for a hot second before he realised something.


    "Does abandoning you with no orders and notice mean he has led and protected you. I would say it doesn''t so the emperor has broken his oath."


    The commander opened his eyes wide at this and began thinking, the rest of the garrison were now talking loudly with each other.


    "He''s broken his oath we''re free."


    "Does this mean I can go home?"


    "Right I''m putting on my dark glasses and going to the brothel."


    The commander ignored these comments before looking at Kyle.


    "Yes the emperor has broken his oath but what''ll we do now. We have no support other than the empire."


    The commander was thinking about how to protect his men as they were no longer supported by the empire and if the noble families of the city chose to they could eliminate them.


    "Well best options are you can join us or become a merc force, whatever you do though please don''t interfere with the overseer."


    The commander on hearing this grinned and stepped aside. The overseer looked fearfully as the family forces closed in on him.


    "You''re boned now."

 144 Chapter 144 Victoly!!

    "You''re boned now."


    Susan said this with a grin as she looked at the overseer; she had seen many men like this before. These parasites would attach themselves to people of power, in this case the emperor and use their patron''s power and influence to shield their actions.


    The overseer looked at Susan before disdain appeared on his face.


    "You''re the former imperial seer, how low you have fallen. You''re nothing but a whore for these bumpkins."


    As he said this he felt a gust of wind before he was kneeling on the ground. He had been hit in the stomach and felt like his intestines wanted to find a way out of him. This could be either heads or tails but we could do without that image.


    Looking up he saw it was Kyle who moved and struck him as he still had his fist slightly extended. The overseer hadn''t even noticed him move but the commander had been watching him, even so he lost track as Kyle moved and only saw him when he had stopped.


    Kyle knew he couldn''t use this speed in battle easily as he still had to think about inertia and his footing, so it made more sense to move slightly slower and only use this kind of speed in a straight line like when he hit the overseer.


    "You shouldn''t speak to a lady like that."


    Kyle said with a simple smile on his face, he had wanted to punch this prat for a while now and luckily for him the overseer gave him a reason. The overseer became enraged seeing all these people standing over him.


    "How dare you my friends will come and destroy you, you damned peasant."


    *Bang*


    The overseer was already on his knees before but now he had fully face planted the ground. His nose was bleeding and it looked like he would probably have black eyes in the morning. Kyle looked up and saw that as opposed to his expectation of Miranda being the culprit, it was instead Clara.


    "Humph how dare you speak to Kyle like that."


    It looked like the usually calm Clara had taken exception to the overseer and his attitude. After receiving this pain the overseer seemed to have grown at least a bit of a brain and didn''t say anymore. He just looked at those surrounding him with hatred in his eyes.


    "So son what do you want to do with this scum?"


    Landon asked Kyle what he planned to do with the overseer; he wanted to kill him but knowing Kyle he would probably have something in mind.


    "We''ll hold a public trial and let those he hurt decide his fate."


    Even though they could kill him now without fear, Kyle wanted to use him as a platform to create his own empire and the laws that would be present within. This would show no one was above these laws and would be subject to punishment based on these laws.


    Landon accepted what Kyle wanted to do before stepping back with Harris to check over his men and tally their losses. Leonard did the same with his forces while the head of house Tor excused himself to check over his territory.


    Kyle turned to Ash and wanted to get this finished.


    "Ash take a unit to the overseer''s property and capture Raith Miles, he will also answer for his crimes. Commander will you give my men access to the overseer''s property?"


    Kyle directed this last question to the garrison commander, because while he could break through the arrays protecting the overseer''s house it would just be easier to have access.


    The commander turned to one of his men and nodded, this guardsman approached Ash and they left to deal with their new orders. Kyle once again turned to the commander.


    "So commander after we were so rudely interrupted, do you have any idea what you and your men will do? Like I said you can join us or become your own company, if you choose the latter you can base yourselves from here just follow the rules we will lay down."


    The commander thought for a moment and looked at his men; they simply watched him waiting for his guidance. It looked like they would follow whatever plan he had; this was the mark of a good leader showing their loyalty to him personally.


    "Can we have some time; I would like to see your new rules before deciding on a plan of action?"


    The commander decided to be cautious as he didn''t know what Kyle was planning on doing and didn''t want to be placed in a worse situation than before.


    "Okay but can you stay in your barracks until everything settles down, Dylan and his unit will accompany you for now."


    Kyle indicated to his right where Dylan was currently speaking to the Daryl''s, Kyle still smiled a little when he thought about this. Dylan turned when he heard his name and moved to the commander before extending his hand.


    "Nice to meet you, should we get moving?"


    As usual Dylan and his innocent and disarming personality came into play; the commander took the offered hand and shook it while responding.


    "Yes I''ve had enough of today, let''s get moving."


    With the exit of the garrison Kyle''s people began the cleanup with the help of the family''s forces who were uninjured. Kyle and his team left, returning to his bastion. He wanted to check on the injured; Bruno also wanted to get back to see Alena.


    Moving back through the city they encountered some members of ''shadow hand''. Kyle ordered them to let One know the outcome and help the guard''s route out any remnants and check on the status of the civilians.


    By the time they got back Faye had already arrived and was waiting in the entranceway with Zak, Netty and Randall. Maria was currently in the atrium but seemed unconcerned as she knew of her son and husbands current strength.


    The beast and the widow had gone with Landon and Harris, while they were leaving Kyle was sure he had heard the widow asking about the traitor his uncle James. Kyle didn''t want to be around for that discussion, which was why he decided to leave it to his father.


    "How was it, did we lose anyone?"


    Nettie was the first to question and Kyle noticed there were a lot of people from his production arm loitering around just out of sight.


    "A few of our newest members were injured and a couple unfortunately didn''t make it but our senior members are all fine. They should be coming back in a little while; they are currently helping with the cleanup."


    Hearing this Nettie released an audible sigh of relief while Randall and Zak felt a certain tension leave them due to fear of losing some of their new friends.


    "We''ll let everyone rest today but I want you guys to queue up a big party in celebration. I''ll have a word with the other family heads and my father and see if we can use this as an inaugural period for our new empire."


    Kyle had spoken to all of his senior members whether they were in the military wing or in the production wing about his plan. Hearing what Kyle wanted to do Nettie cracked her knuckles.


    "No problem Kyle we''ll make sure everyone knows and we''ll make this a proper party."


    Zak and Randall also nodded while sporting happy smiles.


    "Great this should be fun."


    "Yeah I can''t wait to get some booze."


    Nettie looked at the brothers when she heard this and her gaze seemed to threaten violence if either of them ruined this. Kyle decided to leave this to her as he was rather tired after everything that had happened.


    "Bruno why don''t we go check on the injured?"


    When Kyle said this he saw Bruno''s eyes light up as Alena was working in the infirmary and he really wanted to see her. Kyle could only chuckle at this before leading the way to the infirmary, although Bruno eventually took the lead in his excitement to see Alena.


    When they arrived Bruno quickly rushed over to Alena and drew her into a hug before giving her a kiss.


    "So Alena can you let me know how the people are doing?"


    Kyle asked just in case Bruno got a little too excited. Alena broke the kiss with a red face before responding to Kyle.


    "Yes sir our injured will be fine as they''ve already begun healing using your cultivation method. The injured from our allied forces number a few hundred with about 60 dead. None of the injured are in a critical condition and all should recover."


    "Good, thank you Alena."


    Kyle decided to leave the love birds and take his girls to see his mother but as they left he heard a voice from the hall.


    "Hey brat get your ass out here!"

 145 Chapter 145 Whats in a name

    "Hey brat get your ass out here!"


    *Smack*


    "Hey what''d I do know you crazy old bat?"


    "Don''t talk to your grandson like that; he''ll think you don''t like him."


    Kyle instantly knew who this was; it looked as though his grandparents had already ditched Landon and Harris. Knowing that this was the first time they had come to his home Kyle decided to give them the grand tour.


    Moving back to the entranceway Kyle saw them looking around in appreciation. Kyle looked at his girls who had accompanied him and asked them to see his mum.


    "Would you mind checking on my mother and let her know that I''m showing around my paternal grandparents."


    Miranda and Clara both nodded before heading to the atrium after they each grabbed one of Elena''s arms. They knew better than to leave her to her own devices.


    "What are you dragging me for? I want to meet granny and grandpa."


    Elena was calling out as she was hauled away; Miranda and Clara just ignored her as they knew Kyle would want to speak to his grandparents privately before introducing them.


    As always Kyle found himself smiling at how Elena acted, this loving smile however didn''t go unnoticed by the widow.


    "Oh is that your girlfriend little Kyle?"


    She asked with care and a previously unknown smile covered her face. It was a gentle and maternal smile similar to the kind Nettie had when she was with the younger members. The beast also saw this smile and spoke without thinking.


    "Wow dear with that smile you almost seem gentle."


    *Smack*


    "Well maybe not."


    Kyle found this interaction amusing and thought about how he spoke and acted around his girls, they had a similar feel but without the occasional slap.


    "Yes all three are my girlfriends they are Miranda, Clara and Elena. I''ll introduce you later but would you like a tour first?"


    Kyle wanted to get this show on the road as he had some questions for his grandparents but it would be rude not to answer theirs first.


    "Oh yeah I''d love to see this place, before I was summoned this was a wreck. No one had stayed in it for years but looking at it now I may have to take it for myself."


    The beast said this with a half smile, but before his wife could even move he received a shock to the butt. This was similar to a static shock but much stronger and seemed to come from the wall itself.


    "OUCH WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT!!"


    This was one of the internal protections the bastion spirit had incorporated using Kyle''s knowledge. Located at various places within the bastion ''shock'' arrays had been generated with better control rings. This allowed the spirit to disable intruders.


    These were separate from the defensive arrays which meant the spirit could control them. This was just a friendly greeting and a warning.


    "Oh that was the spirit of my home just letting you know he isn''t for sale."


    Kyle stated simply to a confused and slightly scared pair.


    "What does that mean?"


    The widow decided to ask, Kyle answered to the best of his ability that the house and the others connected had a spirit which oversaw them and only reported to Kyle. The fact that this spirit had also begun to refer to itself as a he was a recent development.


    When Kyle had asked about this gender identity the spirit conveyed that it was there to assist Kyle. It seemed to have been observing Isaiah who assisted Landon and took a page from his book. As such it had begun to emulate him.


    Kyle didn''t think this was anything bad so he had allowed the spirit to continue observing, but also said it shouldn''t limit itself and should view as many people as possible. With this explanation the beast and widow didn''t say anything else.


    Kyle began the tour showing them the various rooms and facilities in the bastion and also informing them about the similarities between the different bastions while also informing them that not all the facilities were the same in each of them.


    "Finally this is our training area, over there are the spiritual pressure rooms, there is the weight and aerobics training zone, oh and over there is the Jacuzzi."


    The widow and the beast were amazed by the different facilities this home had, some of the terms were foreign to them but now they were back they planned to experience everything this place had to offer.


    "Well Kyle this is truly impressive, if only your grandfather could provide like you can."


    "Hey that was uncalled for."


    "Anyway we have some questions, may we sit down and discuss what has happened since we left?"


    The widow obviously took the lead in this conversation and Kyle knew this was coming.


    "Of course we can go to my office and you can ask what you want."


    Leading the way back to his office Kyle decided to sit on the couches with his grandparents rather than sitting at his desk and having something between them.


    "Okay Kyle let''s start at the top, we gather your uncle James did something but can you explain?"


    For the next few hours Kyle explained as much as he could, he covered the fact he was poisoned by someone but they had too many suspects, his breakthrough and development of a new cultivations technique, his growth and that of his force, the recent events and the revelation of James''s betrayal.


    After Kyle had narrated the series of events as well as he could, the widow and the beast were quiet as they thought of their youngest son. He had not only turned on his family but had hurt a baby; this man deserved no pity and would receive none from his parents.


    They had sacrificed everything to keep their children safe only for one of them to become a snake. They agreed with Kyle''s conjecture that James was receiving support from the capital and had some suspicions as to who his backer was not that it mattered anymore.


    "Thank you Kyle, but now I have to ask what do you plan to do with Clyde?"


    Kyle was genuinely confused by this.


    "What do you mean plan Clyde is working with father and Uncle Harris at the moment. He''s planning to work as a strategist I believe so when he''s ready I''ll assign him to a unit to get some experience."


    They could see the confusion on Kyle face and breathed a sigh of relief; it was the beast who spoke next.


    "That''s good Kyle we feared you may take revenge on James through Clyde, we wouldn''t want to see that."


    Kyle realised they were worried about their other grandson and with Kyle prestige at the moment if he wanted to cause problems for Clyde it would be easy for him.


    "I see but Clyde has always been friendly with me and Neil, plus I don''t think a child should be responsible for the crimes of their parents."


    His grandparents were proud of Kyle at this point. They couldn''t think of anything else to ask so decided to let him ask anything he wanted.


    "Well Kyle you have answered my and your grandfathers questions do you have any questions for us?"


    "Yes I have a couple, the first and most pressing is where are the others? I sent four falcons to retrieve the third stage cultivators of our allies but you are the only ones to arrive."


    The beast was the one to answer this question.


    "Simply most of us have a small standing force in the capital. Your grandmother being an exception, if we vanished our forces would receive our punishment. Using you falcons and the other third stage cultivators we evacuated our personnel from the capital. They are making their own way here but we headed here first as we would be the best suited to aid you."


    "Good that makes sense, next question was how much do you know of the connection between the imperial family and the cults?"


    It was the widow who answered this question.


    "There have been rumours and conspiracy theories for years, these are quickly silenced however. Do you think there is a connection?"


    "Absolutely there are too many inconsistencies in the investigations and with them helping the overseer in the recent troubles, I''m sure they are receiving support from the capital."


    "Okay I think we all will need to look into this, but with us being cut off we should be able to remove the cults. Any other questions?"


    "Yes what are your given names? I can''t just keep calling you the widow and the beast."


    It was the beast who responded first.


    "Ah yeah we''ll my name is Bob so you can call me grandpa Bob."


    "Wait a sec you name is Bob?"


    "Yup Bob it''s a good strong name don''t you agree?"


    "Bob the beast?"

 146 Chapter 146 A sit down with Bob

    "Bob the beast?"


    "Yeah I didn''t like it when the bards first began calling me by that nickname but it grew on me over time."


    Thank god Kyle thought at least his grandfather realised that rhyming his name like this sounded like his nickname had been granted to him by an elementary schooler.


    "So what did you want to be called?"


    Colour Kyle curious but he wondered if his grandfathers preferred name was better or worse than what he had been given.


    "Well when I first took command of my unit in the capital, I wanted to be known for my fortification and defensive tactics so I wanted to be known as the builder."


    Kyle looked at the wall next to him and was seriously wondering if he should just run head first into it and try another universe.


    "So you wanted to be Bob the builder, okay granny please tell me you had a better naming scheme than grandpa Bob?"


    Bob pouted at this, he thought his name and title were awesome and fear inspiring, but according to Kyle they were bad. The widow smiled at Kyle before she responded.


    "My given name is Winona."


    Well it''s not as bad as Bob the beast but it still had this rhyming thing going on.


    "Do you get these titles when you move to the capital?"


    Kyle was wondering the reasoning behind giving titles to people and what the trigger is to give them a title. He knew that it wasn''t related to the army as Ash and the others never received a title like that.


    "Well simply put the number of people who can reach the third stage are so small in number that we are well known in the capital. To give us an air of mystery and gravitas we''ll receive another name either by general consensus like with mine. Or you''ll receive one from the empire itself, like with Winona."


    The beast responded, it was much like what happens in our world when a newspaper gives someone a nickname, but in this world it is their bards or leaders who name them. Third stage cultivators are like celebrities due to their strength.


    "Do either of you know who many third stage cultivators there are in the empire or if there is a fourth level to cultivation?"


    His grandparents shared a look before responding.


    "True cultivator''s number over a hundred but the empire keeps our true numbers a secret with only some of us being on public display. Those of us that are trotted out for public consumption are usually of commoner descent or like your grandfather and I from the borders."


    "What your grandmother means is we don''t know how strong the imperial family or the noble houses truly are."


    Kyle thought about this for a moment but he could see the logic behind this, those not connected to the great houses would be used to show that anyone can become powerful. They would hide their own strengths however in case they ever became weaker than those they ruled or each other.


    This empire was standing on a tightrope in high wind with traitors and social climbers within and demonic beast on the outside. It is only a matter of time before the empire collapsed in on itself.


    "So Kyle now we''ve answered your questions and you''ve answered ours I have just one more. What are you planning to do from now one?"


    Winona wanted to know what Kyle was planning, as during their short time with Landon they found out Kyle was already in a position of leadership. The guilds within the city had already fallen in behind him.


    Kyle paused and put his thoughts into order, he had several ideas to improve and strengthen their land. These ideas would take time and the hardest part of any of these plans would be the shortage of human resources.


    "The first stage of my plan involves healing this city. This place will be our base and starting off point, we will not stay here however. I intend to stabilise and improve this city before handing it''s lordship over to the black family."


    Winona and Bob were surprised Kyle intended to leave this city, they didn''t say anything for the minute however they did share a look of surprise before returning their attention to Kyle.


    "Second stage involves capturing the other cities in the northern territories. I have people already looking into the other cities and reconstructing the bastions within them. These will be safe zones for our allies and our own forces. Each city needs to be looked at individually as I also intend to pass on these cities to others to manage."


    Kyle paused here as he knew this would be hard for his grandparents to accept, they would fear betrayal because Kyle didn''t have the military necessary to police all the cities. As if on cue Bob spoke up.


    "Kyle I don''t mean to look down on anyone but how can you ensure that you won''t be stabbed in the back or god forbid in the butt *smack* OW."


    Kyle knew that was coming perhaps without the slap around the head but the point still stands. So here Kyle explained about the ''secrecy'' seals, the advantages and also the how it skews people''s perception.


    Most of his inner circle were aware of this now and none of them seem bothered. Kyle didn''t know if this was due to the seal itself or if it was just the way the people in this world looked at things. Kyle decided to tell his grandparents as they hadn''t been around but he knew familial ties here were considered sacred.


    For this reason Kyle was still surprised by James''s betrayal, but in the case of his grandparents he wanted to gauge their reactions to this information.


    Winona was pondering but being the meat head he is Bob immediately began asking questions.


    "So these seals are like slave seals? Also the benefits sound good but what is the down side beyond the mental shifting?"


    "These seals are superficially like ''slave'' seals but where a ''slave'' seal can be used to command all actions the ''secrecy'' seals specifically block giving secret information of the holder or their group. In this case it is anything related to our strength so cultivation, techniques, skills and numbers. There are no downsides if you can overlook the mental conditioning."


    "Well I don''t see a problem then; this is no different than a good politician manipulating information or people being given stories that paint you in a good light."


    It looked like his grandfather was also accepting of this situation and when Kyle looked at his grandmother he also saw she wasn''t really bothered by it. Like Bob said the mental direction was no different than what a good smear or propaganda campaign could do.


    "Okay Kyle so with your next two phases planned out do you have any other plans after those?"


    Winona asked this as she was curious as to what Kyle''s end game was going to be. Even if they took command of the northern territories, they would still be cut off and outnumbered if they ever rejoined the empire.


    It looked as though Winona was still looking down on Kyle''s technique, this may be due to the fact that she hadn''t tried it yet. Once she had experienced the power that came with this new technique Kyle was sure she would understand they weren''t to be trifled with, they only needed time.


    To alleviate her worries however Kyle had another card up his sleeve.


    "Currently our largest problem is human resources, we don''t have enough people. Even if we seize all the cities around us, we as humans will gradually decrease in number until we cease to be. I plan to expand once we capture or are able to control the other cities."


    Winona was surprised by this, as she was part of a few councils she knew that the human race was losing territory and had been for the last few centuries. This wouldn''t help with the personnel issue and she wondered what his plan was to deal with that.


    "Yes we will expand, the human territories used to be much larger. We are going to send teams out to resurrect the bastions at those former locations, creating footholds into the beast territories. Oh yes just for you information we have solved the fertility problems with stronger cultivators as well."


    "Humana ha wah?!"

 147 Chapter 147 More meat for the grinder

    "Humana ha wah?!"


    "Wow granny I didn''t know you could speak another language. What did you just say?"


    Kyle teased Winona because of her reaction to his statement. She was aware of how troubling it was for cultivators to have children and with the difficulty increasing as the cultivator became more powerful.


    This cure would aid them in both increasing their numbers and also drawing in support from other cultivators. Bob didn''t think too far ahead as his wife was the brains in their relationship.


    "Well should we have a chat with mother she can give you more details."


    "Wait Maria, has she taken this cure as well?"


    Winona asked with her eyes sparkling, if Maria is pregnant it means she would finally be able to see hear grandchildren as babies. Kyle was the youngest of her grandchildren but he seemed more grown up than even Clyde and Neil.


    With a new arrival Winona could let her grandmotherly instincts run wild, this would also work in Kyle''s favour because who knew what would happen to him if Winona didn''t have anyone else to vent her adoration on.


    "Let''s go right now I want to see your mother and how she''s doing."


    "Okay my girls are with her right now, they should be in the atrium."


    So Kyle led the way with his grandfather making occasional comments while his grandmother looked like she was on a mission and barely restraining herself from breaking into a sprint. Kyle even suspected the only reason she didn''t leave them behind was that she didn''t know the way.


    They reached the atrium and saw Maria being surrounded by Kyle''s girls. Clara and Miranda were chatting with Maria like good daughters in law. Elena was simply staring at Maria''s midriff without saying anything or even blinking.


    It was a little strained as it seemed Elena had come in, sat down and just stared. Shauna was beside Maria and was sending occasional glances towards Elena maybe hoping she would stop staring but to no avail.


    "Hi Mum I don''t know if you ever met grandpa Bob and granny Winona but they''ve come to see you."


    Kyle gave a simple introduction as he didn''t know if Maria knew his parents well enough to speak casually with them and it had never come up in conversation before. Maria looked away from Miranda and Clara.


    Seeing Kyle with her in laws she stood to greet them.


    "Hello father, mother it is a pleasure to see you again. It has been too long."


    Maria gave a noncommittal and rather formal greeting to the pair. She had met both Bob and Winona when she was younger. Bob was present at her wedding but was summoned before Kyle was born. She never interacted much with Winona when she was younger and she had been summoned before she married Landon.


    "Hi Maria we just heard you had some luck getting jiggy with our boy *smack* ouchy."


    Kyle snorted at this, it seemed bob and Dylan would be well matched when they met. Winona was looking at Maria seemingly trying to gain some insight from her inspection. Deciding she saw something she liked in Maria, Winona greeted her warmly.


    "Hello Maria you can call me Winona or mother, whichever you are most comfortable with. Thank you for looking after my boy, I know he takes after his father to much sometime."


    Maria let slip a sigh of relief before a bright smile spread on her face. She would finally have a mother again. Even though her father was still alive he was also in the capital while her mother had died years ago.


    "Thank you mother, it is hard sometimes but I love him and Kyle dearly. I take it from what Bob said Kyle has told you our good news?"


    Maria was slightly put out that she couldn''t tell her extended family about her incoming bundle of joy but couldn''t really fault Kyle as she knew he wouldn''t spill the beans with no reason.


    When he was younger Kyle spent all his time cultivating. He knew about the requirements placed upon him as the head of house, with the poison blocking his progress he had become withdrawn if not downright emo.


    Once he had broken through he had become much brighter and happier. Neither her nor Landon could bring themselves to interfere with the new Kyle and agreed only to guide him and step in if things went too far.


    Luckily for them this was unnecessary as Kyle grew more powerful, he had surrounded himself with good and caring people. These people had become a second family to Kyle and they had welcomed his parents with open arms.


    "Well he implied that you''ve had good news, can you tell me about the cure at all?"


    Winona knew that many female cultivators had to halt or delay their progress in order to have a family. If this was no longer an issue the female cultivators would be able to progress at the same rate as their male counterparts.


    "Sorry mother I don''t fully understand the process. Kyle was the inventor and truly is the only one who fully knows the ins and outs as to what is required."


    Winona was surprised by this as the empire and various sages and doctors within it, had looked for a cure or at least a reason for years and had found nothing. She turned her gaze to Kyle and saw him chatting with his girls without a care.


    Kyle felt Winona''s gaze on him and turned his head towards her with a questioning gaze.


    "Yes? What do you want to know?"


    Kyle asked with a half grin on his face. Winona on seeing this had a feeling Kyle would tell her about his cure if she asked but only because he didn''t think it could be replicated. Her curiosity got the better of her however and she took the bait.


    "So Kyle how did you cure the fertility problems?"


    Winona felt a little strange asking Kyle about this because regardless of how intelligent he seemed to be, to her eyes he was still a child. Bob didn''t think like this and instead believed Kyle should be treated as an adult after he battled with them.


    Kyle put his thoughts in order for a moment before responding to Winona in the simplest way possible. This left out a lot of nuance and understanding of biology but he wasn''t prepared to get tied down into a lecture about procreation with his grandmother.


    "In its simplest form the reason for the bad fertility of cultivators is the mana in our bodies react to unknown forms in our bodies as parasites. Children are viewed by this mana as a parasite while it is connected. I use arrays to create a barrier protecting the nascent form of the baby growing in the womb."


    Kyle''s explanation was as simple as can be, but in truth if it was really this simple others would have already discovered this "cure" before. Winona knew he was holding information back but also understood that they had just met.


    "Well that''s all good, didn''t Landon say he should be back some time soon. Can we get some food?"


    Bob put a hand over his stomach indicating his hunger and desire to eat some meat. Winona could only shake her head, this didn''t earn Bob a slap this time as he didn''t swear and Winona was also hungry herself.


    "Let''s head down you can eat here for tonight, dad usually eats in the main hall for dinner but he may join us tonight."


    Kyle led the way to the kitchens, Bob and Winona were surprised seeing all of Kyle''s people sitting together, with no division between his combat personnel and the production and serving personnel. This was the advantage of having everyone train together; it created a sense of camaraderie.


    Kyle began talking to his grandparents while Maria went to find something to snack on, while Clara and Miranda went to help their mothers and Elena went to mess with her younger brother.


    "So now you''re back what are you planning to do with yourselves?"


    "Hum don''t know about the missus but I want to check out your training along with Clyde and Neil. If I see you guys slacking you''ll be in trouble."


    Bob showed his fanatical face to Kyle when he said this, little did he know that he was talking to the little training demon.


    "I also saw your people using magic so I want to check out your mage cultivations."


    Winona also said her piece, the others nearby had wry grins on their faces as they heard the grandparents before Kyle decided to hook them.


    "Well you can view our training but if you haven''t used our cultivation techniques you wouldn''t be able to use the same way forms we do. Do you want to take the secrecy seals so you can learn the technique?"


    As they were about to answer a voice was heard.


    "Yo Kyle who''s that more meat on the slab?"

 148 Chapter 148 Sick days of Summer

    "Yo Kyle who''s that more meat on the slab?"


    Dylan to the left of me.


    "Oh god why''d you bring in the OAP''s are we that desperate to be inclusive?"


    Susan to the right of me.


    "Is it time for pancakes?"


    And I''m stuck in the middle with Elena.


    This could be considered the perfect storm with the three fools all descending on people far stronger than they are. Bob had a vein on his temple twitching while Winona narrowed her eyes while she looked at those who had just spoken.


    Elena was largely left out of this glare as she was simply after some food and even if it was directed her way Kyle didn''t think she would be bothered by it.


    Sometimes to advance it is best to retreat or in Kyle''s case pretend nothing is happening and hope for the best, so with this in mind Kyle began a conversation with some of the nearby house members while their eyes would occasionally flick to Dylan, Susan, Bob and Winona.


    "What do you mean meat for the grinder?"


    Bob asked with obvious irritation, Dylan looked at Kyle quickly but seeing he was ignoring him decided to keep digging the hole he had made for himself.


    "Well when new people come to dinner that usually means we have new people to join our training. If you''re anything like the rest you''ll get smashed, crushed then minced before you come out shiny spanking new."


    Bob''s twitch had now shifted to just above his eye and his hands were balled into fists which made cracking sounds. The conversation between Susan and Winona wasn''t proceeding any better.


    "What''s an OAP by the way?"


    "Well it''s an abbreviation standing for "old age pensioner" I thought that at your age you should be relaxing not joining this circus."


    This even made Kyle twitch a bit as Susan had not only insulted his grandmother but had insulted everyone here in a roundabout way. Susan was going to have some one on one training it looked like.


    "Who are you calling old there dear?"


    Winona put some extended emphasis when she called Susan dear and Kyle put his hand around Elena''s waist while gradually moving further down the table and hopefully out of the combat zone.


    "Well you have to admit you are rather old. It''s nothing to ashamed of rather you should revel in the years that have passed."


    Susan concluded with a satisfied smirk, Winona felt an apocalyptical rage flow through her mind. This uncontrolled anger seeped out from her and began to affect the surrounding mana, causing small objects to begin to rise from the table.


    This unfocused wave of mana often happened during second stage mage training but by the third stage it would be almost unheard of for a mage to lose control like this. Unfortunately Winona had met a wild Susan, Susan had used taunt and it was super effective.


    Bob was also angry but was suddenly distracted as a salt shaker floated in front of his face, quickly looking to his side he saw Winona looking at Susan with glowing white eyes. Bob did what any god fearing husband would do in this situation.


    "RUN AWAY!!"


    Kyle felt Winona''s magic beginning to go haywire and turned his soul sight towards her. He could see the storm of mana flashing around her and could also see the situation was exacerbated by certain parts of her mind being affected by the incorrect flow of mana.


    He found himself once again cursing the flawed cultivation techniques the empire foisted on their people. It looked like the technique Winona was using dampened her emotions most of the time, but when they broke loose their strength was much stronger than other times.


    Susan and Dylan saw Winona and realised this pair of seniors shouldn''t have been messed with but could only lament their actions before they too sought cover. Everyone had already been watching what was happening and prepared to go on the defence.


    Kyle decided that was enough and with a simple flick of a finger Winona''s mana dispersed. This wouldn''t affect her and her mana would quickly return. Winona sat there stunned for a moment, when a mages mana runs wild it is almost impossible to contain it without having specialised formations laid out.


    This is one of the reasons mages are only trained in the capital as they have the facilities in place to disperse a mages uncontrolled mana bursts. Winona was also aware that it was Kyle who dispersed her mana as she felt a disruptive energy come from his direction.


    Looking to Kyle she saw him looking in her direction with an unimpressed expression on his face. Winona became nervous as she felt Kyle may have been disappointed with her for losing control, as his grandmother she wanted Kyle to be proud of her.


    "The empire really is trash, once you''ve taken your seals I''ll immediately train you with our technique it''ll cure the problems with your uncontrolled mana release."


    Winona was happy that Kyle didn''t blame her for losing control, but as she saw him grinning at her then looking at the three behind her.


    Bob felt cold sweat on his back when Kyle turned his gaze in his direction, "why is my battle instinct telling me to run" he wondered. Usually he would trust in this instinct that had been honed after years of combat and surviving situations he shouldn''t.


    Susan and Dylan also had cold sweats but in their minds was the same though, "damn we did it again, can I get out of this?" They looked at each other quickly, sizing up the competition thinking if they could throw the other to the lions they might escape. They knew however this wasn''t going to happen when they heard Kyle.


    "Yes I think I will personally train all four of you."


    Dylan had suffered more of Kyle''s personal training than anyone else, when Kyle said this he could almost see a bleeding sun appearing behind Kyle before he shook his head and the sun was gone.


    Winona''s mind was on something else however, how did Kyle disrupt her mana because as far as she was aware the only way to contain a mana burst was to have a stronger barrier, but as she was a third stage cultivator Kyle shouldn''t have been able to do this with a simple gesture.


    "Kyle what did you do to me?"


    Susan picked up on Winona''s words and turned a suspicious gaze to Kyle. She had also trained as a mage and without Kyle''s technique knew of the pitfalls in mage cultivation. Maria trained distantly from others in case of disruption as this was her only choice previously.


    "Was that a new element?"


    Susan asked as she knew Kyle had discovered a different form of magic but hadn''t yet trained her in it.


    "No from my studies the higher forms are not elemental magic."


    "So it is a higher form! You told me you weren''t going to train it."


    "No I said you shouldn''t, I know what you''re like and I''d like to keep my city in one piece thank you."


    "Fine so what is this new magic grouping called?"


    Susan wasn''t happy but she knew her own mind and believed Kyle was probably right but she would never admit it, but her curiosity for this magical branch knew no bounds.


    "I''m thinking of calling this new branch the esoteric branch. And what you just saw was ''Null'' magic."


    "Well what does it do then?"


    Susan asked in apparent excitement and with sparkly eyes. Bob and Dylan had no idea what they were talking about so had somehow begun to arm wrestle to decide a winner while Winona was listening in on the conversation between Kyle and Susan.


    "You saw what it does disruption, dissipation or absorption of mana."


    "Well that seems pretty useless if I''m honest."


    Susan seemed a little put out that this "higher magic" seemed so boring. Winona on the other hand realised some of its potential.


    "So this will dispel mana, so any element or array could be broken or shielded against using this magic."


    Susan had understanding dawn on her face. If this was true a mages greatest advantage would mean nothing.


    "Yes and no, all pure mana constructs would break down but if magic was used to manipulate something physical to attack the null field wouldn''t protect against that."


    Susan and Winona began thinking about the application of this and began discussing with each other the merits and demerits.


    "Right you four eat up and grab some sleep you''re going to have a long day ahead of you."


    Kyle said to his four training dummies, when he said this a voice came from a known quarter.


    "I''m going to be sick in the morning."

 149 Chapter 149 Train you grandparents

    "I''m going to be sick in the morning."


    Susan said while looking around for a quick way to exit. Kyle looked at her with his trademark smile which looked gentle and calming but if you knew him, you would run for the hills when you saw this smile.


    "That''s okay Susan if you''re sick tomorrow I''ll train you for five days instead of just the one how does that sound."


    "Halleluiah praise the sun I''m cured, don''t worry Kyle I''ll be there front and centre."


    Susan didn''t even miss a beat as she knew better than to try and argue with Kyle when he was like this. Even though she was a third stage cultivator like Bob and Winona there was something in Kyle which intimidated her on occasion.


    Bob and Winona also felt this primal instinct and so didn''t contest this and just decided to train with Kyle as that was their intention anyway. Dylan was well a special case; he had more punishm...one to one training than just about anyone else barring Kyle''s team.


    Kyle''s team consisting of Bruno, Elena, Miranda, Clara and Alena had received Kyle''s instruction but as they weren''t being punis*cough*, he didn''t push them as hard as he could and allowed them to grow stronger at a reasonable rate.


    Almost everyone in the household had received direction from Kyle at one time or another and the results were obvious, so no one complained about this well except for Susan but let''s not think about her.


    Everyone ate their meals and talked together and planned about the celebration tomorrow, after a little while everyone broke apart and returned to their lodgings for a good night''s sleep. Landon had also joined them for dinner but on hearing that Kyle was on the war path decided to speak to him the following day and instead sat with Maria in the hopes she would deflect Kyle''s attention.


    **The following day**


    Kyle was standing in the training ground waiting for his grandparents and Susan to arrive, Dylan was already standing at attention nearby as he had it drilled into him never to be late to the point he was always early to any meeting.


    Susan was the next to arrive as she had also received training, she came sprinting through the door and slid to a halt next to Dylan.


    "Safe!!"


    Susan was afraid she would be late and receive further "training" from Kyle. While she did want training in her magic, she loathed the physical training she had to undertake. She was a typical mage character in mind but with her current strength she was rapidly closing in on and average early second stage warrior.


    The grandparents arrived shortly after and began looking around at the people who were already present and had begun training. Some people were running others lifting weights; Harris was in a wrestling ring being nailed to the ground by a couple of 8 year olds.


    Training for all those present was progressing well but Kyle had some stuff to do with his group first.


    "Susan, Dylan begin cultivating I need to guide my grandparents through our technique to start with."


    Susan and Dylan immediately found themselves a space and began cultivating, these cultivation sessions would be the only breaks they received during today''s training and they knew it.


    Kyle went to his grandparents and once he had spoken to them he issued them with the secrecy seals, Bob and Winona could feel the connection far more strongly than the usual people who joined the network but there was virtually no compulsion from the seals as they were already devoted to their family.


    Once the seals had settled Kyle ran them through the cultivation technique and inspected them to ensure they followed the technique precisely. After a few corrections Kyle inspected their cultivation base and nodal network.


    Due to having reached the third stage both Winona and Bob had cleared their first and second level nodes with multiple nodes in higher levels also being cleared. Their nodes hadn''t expanded very much due to the techniques they were using but they weren''t in as bad a state as some had been.


    Some of their channels were strained with a few breaks in them but this would be easily fixed as they trained with Kyle and his people. While he has in their spirit realms Kyle decided to once again have a look at the next stage and see if he could see anything yet.


    As usual the next stage was still blank to him; he could sense there was something beyond the first stage but couldn''t approach or see what was beyond. Maria, Susan and Kyle had all looked at this lack of sight and the theory Kyle leaned towards was that because his ''soul sight'' was based on perception he could only see what he had felt or understood.


    Simply put because he hasn''t yet experienced the second stage he can''t understand it and as such it doesn''t exist for him. After all perception shapes your reality, this was just a more direct example.


    Letting his new victims train in the technique for about 30 minutes so they became used to it Kyle called an end to cultivation and it was time to start the physical drills. Winona was surprised that she would be going through the same drills as Bob.


    "Kyle are you sure we should all do the same training. Bob is a warrior and I''m a mage so I don''t have the same strength and endurance as he does."


    "Yes grandma you may be a mage but you still need to build up your stamina. We have seen that if you have a healthy body you can channel more mana and recover faster. Don''t worry your training will be adjusted to suit your strengths."


    When Kyle had finished he walked to a rack which had array based weights upon it. These weights used arrays to mimic specific weights allowing Kyle to put more strain on Dylan and Bob while giving Winona and Susan less.


    Doing this meant everyone would move at the same speed but with more or less strain allowing them to slowly increase their stamina and strength. This coupled with the controlled evolution by the mana present within them would give the best results.


    "Okay everyone take your weights, strap them to your wrists and ankles and wait at the line."


    Everyone got ready and moved to the starting line; once everyone was ready Kyle directed his mana to the weights activating them. Everyone set off with Bob trying to be in front, Dylan was running at the same pace as Kyle with Susan and Winona a little behind them.


    "Hahaha this ain''t hard, if this is the best you can do I''ll need to train you myself."


    Bob seemed to be enjoying himself while Dylan just shook his head as he knew that Bob would be struggling before long.


    After 2 more laps Bob began to flag, looking behind him he saw Dylan and Kyle running without any visible strain while Susan had a flush to her face and a little sweat. Winona was beginning to struggle so Kyle dropped back and began to run alongside her to give a bit of encouragement.


    "Come on grandma we need another 2 laps then you can rest, keep it up."


    Winona simply nodded before she carried on grinding; unluckily this was only the first part of the morning training. The warm up if you will.


    After the run they cultivated for 15 minutes to get back their stamina before Kyle had Susan direct Winona in some yoga while he had Dylan and Bob do some dead lifting. Kyle also began lifting a bar with one hand holding it parallel to the ground for 10 seconds before returning it to the ground and switching hands before lifting it again.


    All this was done with the weights still strapped on, after 20 minutes of this training Dylan and Bob shifted to lifting a bar with weights placed on it with their legs and Winona and Susan were pulling weights attached to a pulley system by twisting their torso.


    Winona was struggling and sweating and Bob wasn''t fairing much better at this point. Bob had to say this training was strange, even though it appeared easy in a short span of time he had begun to struggle.


    The cause for their quick loss of stamina also lay within the weights they still wore. These blocked their mana from maintaining their stamina and instead pushed it into their muscles and bones causing them to evolve faster.


    This function was similar to the mana pressure rooms but just not as strong. For his part after Kyle had them switch their training, he had fiddled with his weights and was now doing handstand push ups using just his fingertips.


    "Dylan, Susan more weight if you would."


    Kyle suddenly said from the side, this made Winona pout while Bob finally snapped.


    "WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH YOU?!"

 150 Chapter 150 Grumpy Old Men

    "WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH YOU?!"


    Bob finally snapped, he was looking at Kyle with anger and resentment in his eyes. Kyle was surprised by this outburst as he never thought his grandfather would react in this way.


    "What''s wrong Bob?"


    Bob paused for a second to calm his anger and also noticed that Kyle had called him by his name rather than grandfather. This seemed to indicate that Kyle wasn''t impressed with Bob''s interruption but now he had started Bob intended to finish.


    "Winona can''t do this kind of exercise her body is weak and this could kill her."


    Bob finished and his anger had once again appeared in his eyes. Bob and Winona had been separated for many years by the empire and once they were reunited it was as if they had never been apart.


    This love and closeness had made Bob highly protective of Winona much to her annoyance, even when they argued and bickered they never lost sight of the years they had lost together. Winona was looking at Bob with a little love and a whole lot of irritation at this point.


    Kyle didn''t answer right away but instead asked a question.


    "Did Winona complain or ask for the difficulty to be eased?"


    "Well no but that''s not the point.


    "So you can speak for her or is she unable to speak for herself."


    Bob could only open and close his mouth at this as he knew his wife was more than capable of speaking for herself. She led several mage councils and was an authority on mage craft, to imply she couldn''t speak on her own behalf was ridiculous.


    For his part Kyle was keeping his temper firmly under control, but the implication that he would risk injuring any member of his family almost made his anger break free. While he could appreciate Bob''s care for Winona he needed to put his foot down.


    Others had become aware of what was happening and were watching from a distance, James was also watching and decided to step in when he felt a hand on his shoulder. Looking to the owner of the hand he was greeted by a grim faced Landon.


    "Let Kyle deal with this, father can be unreasonable at times."


    James decided to listen to Landon and just watch for the moment; however he reserved the right to intervene if he felt his father was going overboard with his nephew. Landon was happy to see that James was worried about Kyle, this could be chalked up to the seal he had but they would take longer to affect him so these must be James''s own feelings.


    Kyle was looking up at Bob who was still much larger than him. Now he had taken the wind out of Bob''s sails it was time to slap him with some truths.


    "First off I have an ability that will let me know when I am pushing people too far or over their limits, none of you have reached that limit yet. This ability was what let develop our new technique. Secondly while this is a hard workout it is tailored to each of you with the weights set to your physique. Lastly the reason we are pushing is to force your bodies to adapt and with the technique it will also force your bodies to heal at the same time."


    Kyle finished his speech and waited for Bob to react; Winona was thinking through Kyle''s words and also closed her eyes to sense her own body. She could feel certain older injuries and aches and pains were already easing and this was after a single session.


    Bob was also inspecting himself and various scars and wounds that carried a dull ache were also starting to lessen. The ''breath of deliverance'' cultivation technique they were all using could pretty much heal anything given time and small infirmities from old scars and just old age would heal in only a few sessions returning people to their optimum fighting form.


    "Um you may be right Kyle I would like to apologise, it was wrong of me to think you would risk any of us."


    Dylan and Susan who were trying to appear as small and possible breathed again once this argument was over. While Kyle was still annoyed he had to admit his grandfather was a good man and admitted his mistakes with no shame.


    Winona walked over to Bob and shyly kissed his cheek, even after all these years the affection between them was visible for all to see but so was the years of being married.


    *Smack*


    "Why did you think you could speak for me? Kyle is doing as we asked him to do and you want to shout at him you old goat!"


    Yup Winona was scary when she was riled up; Bob didn''t say anything and just looked away. It seemed he wasn''t going to get any peace for the next few days. Bob looked at Kyle hoping that he would get Winona off him, but looking in his eyes he realised Kyle was going to have some revenge.


    It looked like Kyle had inherited Winona''s vengeful streak and now Bob was going to be on the receiving end of it.


    "Okay Dylan, Susan and Winona you cultivate and recover. Bob it looks like you still have plenty of energy so we''ll increase your weights and have you do some sprints."


    Bob didn''t think this sounded too bad until he felt the increase of the weight on his arms and legs. Bracing himself he began moving his arms and legs getting used to the sudden increase in weight. Kyle led him over to the short track and they began sprinting.


    Kyle trained with Bob to keep him going. They did a set and Bob fell to the ground breathing heavily, he was struggling to get his breath back.


    "Bob cultivate for 5 minutes then we''ll go again."


    "You''re enjoying this aren''t you?"


    "If you don''t enjoy your work you should quit, now get cultivating."


    A short 5 minutes later Bob was back on his feet, Kyle watched him for a minute before he went back to the other three so they could continue their training.


    "Okay Dylan I want you to begin drilling Susan and Winona with the weighted staff."


    "Yes boss"


    "Kyle what is the point of these weighted rods?"


    Winona asked with curiosity as she didn''t know what purpose this would serve.


    "Using weighted rods you''ll strengthen your hands and wrists which will help with any weapons and even punching; now I need to check on Bob."


    Kyle returned to Bob and saw he was slowing down; Kyle had a malicious grin on his face before he spoke to him.


    "Bob you''re slowing down, do you require some....encouragement."


    "What *huff* do you mean?"


    "Oh just this."


    Kyle snapped his fingers and the bastion responded to his intent and Bob received a sharp shock to the butt. The internal defensive arrays could also apparently be used to as a training "aid".


    "Ow dammit."


    "Better got moving, if you slow down you''ll receive more....assistance."


    Kyle returned to the other group and helped them with their training while using a heavy training rod himself.


    *Buzz* "Damn."


    "Kyle your grandfather made a mistake can you forgive him?"


    *Buzz* "I''ll get you meddling kids."


    "He doesn''t seem to have learned anything yet."


    *Buzz* "Ahhh my ass."


    "Well can you let him go as a favour to me?"


    "Okay but only because you asked nicely."


    Kyle gave the cease command to the sprit who gave one last shock before following his command.


    *Buzz* "Ow, ow, ow my butt is burning."


    "No it''s not now rejoin the others and we''ll do another round of cultivation before we pack up and get ready for the celebrations, you may *cough* also want to do your hair or at least *cough* brush it."


    Kyle was looking at Bob with a strange look and when Bob looked at the others he could also see they appeared to be trying to contain their laughter. Bob looked at Winona who simply said.


    "Don''t worry dear we can sort it out later, let''s just cultivate and get this over with."


    "Yes dear."


    Another round of cultivation followed, Kyle was inspecting his grandparents and saw that their first level nodes were already strong enough to support a perfect breakthrough so before they returned to shower and change Kyle had them both clear the first gate completely.


    Kyle returned to his room and laid out his clothes for the night but when he heard a scream from the distance he smiled to himself.


    "WHAT HAPPENED TO MY HAIR, I LOOK LIKE A DANDELLION!"

 151 Chapter 151 Ive never seen balls like tha

    "WHAT HAPPENED TO MY HAIR, I LOOK LIKE A DANDELLION!"


    Kyle laughed to himself before he hoped in the shower to freshen up and brush his teeth. Even if he was in a magical cultivation world there was no reason to let his personal hygiene suffer. Finishing his shower and freshening up, Kyle left the bathroom wearing just a towel.


    On exiting the bathroom Kyle was greeted by Miranda wearing some casual clothes, made using some of the suggestions he had given to Nettie. Even though Kyle knew some designs he was never really into fashion so the designs were just based on some of the random stuff he could remember.


    Miranda was wearing a powder blue off the shoulder cardigan and jeans. Kyle looked at her appreciatively thinking she was becoming cuter and cuter as time was going by. For her part Miranda was staring at Kyle with his exposed upper body.


    Realising she was staring she quickly looked away with a light blush on her cheeks. She quickly gathered herself before she spoke.


    "Good afternoon Kyle, I have been assigned to show you to the festivities. Clara and Elena are going to meet us there with Bruno and Alena."


    Kyle began drying his hair with another towel and spoke while he was getting ready.


    "Alright I''ll only be a few minutes, what are we going to be doing I haven''t had a chance to chat with Nettie and Isaiah to find out how we''re celebrating."


    Miranda was still watching Kyle from the corner of her eye and when Kyle spoke to her she tried to make it look like she was looking out of the window.


    "We''ve created a fair with foods prepared by us and the rest of the staff on the estate and later tonight we are going to be holding a ball for the noble and aristocratic families."


    Kyle thought about this and couldn''t really fault them for creating something for the nobles specifically, as they needed these lower nobles on side as they had proved their loyalty to the city by staying and fighting the invaders.


    "Okay but you know I can''t dance, well at least not without risking life and limb."


    "Don''t worry Kyle, the girls and I will look after you."


    Miranda said with a smile full of integrity, Kyle couldn''t help but shake his head before he grabbed his boxers planning to put them on. He paused for a second before looking at Miranda.


    "Would you step out or do you want to stay and observe?"


    Miranda froze and Kyle was sure she was weighing up whether she should go or not, realising she hadn''t moved and that Kyle was grinning at her Miranda got a bright blush on her face before rushing outside leaving a sentence behind.


    "I''ll be waiting outside."


    Kyle laughed at this and got changed although he was sure at one point he heard the door creak. Dressed in a simple white shirt with grey cotton slacks Kyle looked over himself in his mirror and couldn''t help but narcissistically think ''looking good''.


    Once he was ready Kyle exited out the room and saw Miranda paying an unnatural amount of attention to a picture hanging on the wall. Kyle seeing Miranda acting like this smiled at her before taking her hand.


    "Come on Miranda let''s get a move on."


    Miranda began to softly smile when Kyle took her hand. It reminded her of the first time Kyle took her hand when he broke through and was rushing to see his parents. She began reminiscing about what had happened in the last few years.


    Reaching the open fields of the estate Kyle was amazed to see various tables and attractions placed around. It had only been less than a single day and already the field looked like the fair had been planned months in advance.


    On the tables were various cold foods while there were various mobile grills and ovens powered by arrays at different points for hot food. Miranda took the lead and showed Kyle the way, near one of the hot food stands Clara, Elena, Bruno and Alena were standing. They were waiting for Kyle and Miranda and as such they hadn''t got anything for themselves yet.


    It appeared that they had been keeping Elena under control as she was looking all around and was occasionally sniffing the air. It seemed cruel to have a foodie like Elena wait next to somewhere that was cooking food with a good smell, but with her being unable to gorge.


    Seeing Kyle approaching Elena broke free from Clara who was keeping her from just running away to get fed, reaching Kyle she grabbed his free hand and began dragging him and Miranda at a faster pace.


    "What took you so long, what''ll you do if the food runs out?"


    Kyle looked at the piles of meat waiting to be cooked not to mention the sweets and the like around, Kyle grinned at Elena.


    "Elena dear, I don''t think that''ll be a problem and we''re here now."


    "Yes, yes you are. Now the question is where are you going to start. Maybe some pasta or chilli or maybe a wonderfully made taco like this handmade, non GMO, Susan special."


    A wild Susan appeared waving around a stacked "chicken" taco around, this must have come from Kyle''s staff as they had been preparing things with Kyle as far as he could remember. Taco''s were something he had before and it took almost a year of experimentation to make an acceptable facsimile.


    Like a hungry wolf Elena was watching the taco, as it moved left her head moved left as it moved right her head moved right when out of nowhere.


    *Chomp*


    Only the corner of the taco Susan was holding was left. Elena had been holding it in for too long and this was the final straw. Susan froze and could only look at the bit of her taco she still had in her hand looking at Elena she saw her check were full as her jaw was moving.


    "Why would you do that? Actually scratch that how could you eat a whole taco in a single bit you shouldn''t even be able to get all that in your mouth?"


    Elena carried on chewing and swallowed before she responded.


    "I''ve trained to be able to open my mouth wider and fit more in it."


    "Wait what why would you train your mouth of all things?"


    "Oh that''s simple me, Miranda and Clara spoke to their mothers about the best way to please Kyle, after hearing about what he''s packing they said we needed training."


    ...


    ...


    ...


    *Please wait normal normal service will resume shortly.*


    "Whaaa um well I excuse me I need to be anywhere else."


    With that Susan exits stage left. Miranda and Clara were now staring daggers at Elena who tilted her head seeing their looks before looking back at Kyle. Kyle was leaning over the table holding his stomach.


    He wanted to laugh but he couldn''t even breathe so all he was producing was a weird huffing noise. Alena was now red looking in the opposite direction and Bruno looked confused. After taking a minute Kyle managed to calm down and walked over and gave Elena a hug.


    She didn''t know why she got a hug but appreciated it, Miranda and Clara looked annoyed at this but knew that Kyle would pay attention to them as well they simply had to wait until their turns came.


    "Never stop being you Elena. Anyway guys let''s get moving I want to try some of the foods around. Do you guys also know if there is anything else to do, we''ve been training almost nonstop and we could all do with a break?"


    "There are a few rides and entertainments, I want to see the beast race and I think the falcons are going to be doing something later."


    Bruno responded while Alena just hugged his arm, she seemed happy just to be spending time together. Now that the immediate threat had been dealt with and the traitor had been removed Kyle felt it would be good to take a day or two of a week or they may burn out and wouldn''t be able to help anyone.


    Moving through the fair they saw and greeted many of their acquaintances. Kyle realised that amongst those he saw there was a group who were missing.


    "Does anyone know where Willem and his remaining family are?"


    "They felt it would be best to let the people celebrate without them being here as there may be bad blood but they are planning on coming to the ball."


    Clara responded, she felt bad for the women of the Miles family but knew that is they were present something unpleasant may happen.


    "Yeah that may be for the best, does anyone know what will be going on at the ball tonight."


    Kyle asked as he had never really attended a ball or the like in either life.


    "I''m not sure myself but Isaiah should let us know before we arrive, but I did see they were putting in a pair of large disco balls."


    "Ah reminds me of you Kyle."

 152 Chapter 152 Chatty faces

    "Ah reminds me of you Kyle."


    Everyone looked at Elena, on one hand they wanted an explanation and on the other hoped they wouldn''t receive one. Alena however took the bait like a hungry fish.


    "What do you mean by that El?"


    All thoughts stopped at this while all eyes looked at Elena, almost in slow motion her mouth opened and she began her sentence.


    "Well Kyle *munch*."


    At the last moment Kyle had grabbed a pasty from the nearby table and shoved it in Elena''s mouth. He wasn''t ready for others to know about his origins, he wasn''t even sure if Elena was going to say anything about that but it was hard to tell what she was going to do.


    "Come on let''s start looking around. Also it''s probably best if you don''t ask Elena questions like that as you may not be ready for the answers."


    Kyle stated with true conviction which surprised Alena. What was Elena going to say was the major thought on her mind, but when she saw Clara and Miranda with slightly red cheeks she could guess it was something intimate.


    The group began walking around sampling various foods and enjoying the various entertainments. As they were walking they encountered Chad, Theo and little Ruby running around with Lord Black chasing after them.


    "Please excuse me, get back here you brats."


    He said in passing, it looked like his daughter and her new friends were running Leonard ragged. They also into Neil and the young miss of the Tor family, they seemed to have made some progress as she was holding Neil''s hand and didn''t look like she was going to be relinquishing it any time soon.


    "Hi Neil are we going to see you at the ball this evening?"


    Kyle asked his cousin, he was happy Neil had finally got his girl and wondered when he would have to get a suit made for the wedding.


    "Kyle you know I don''t like these kinds of things...but well maybe I''ll come along this time."


    Neil seemed to want to say something else but the young miss gave him a look and on catching this changed what he was going to say.


    "Oh you must be the daughter of the Tor family, I''m afraid we haven''t been introduced."


    As it looked like she was going to be close with his cousin Kyle decided it would be a good time to get the introductions done. He had been interacting with so many people lately it was sometimes hard to keep track but he would do his best to learn the name of everyone he believed to be important.


    "Good day to you Lord Powell my name is Beth it''s a pleasure to make your acquaintance."


    She responded like a proper young lady with a small curtsey. She was a little younger than Neil but only by a year or two but she didn''t seem to look down on Kyle.


    "We''ll head on and leave you crazy kids to it, remember Neil don''t do anything I wouldn''t do."


    Kyle left while waggling his eyebrows at his cousin with an obvious innuendo in his words. This brought a blush to Beth''s face and made Neil splutter.


    Kyle quickly left them to their little tryst and carried on exploring and experiencing a new side to this world. People were happy and children were running and laughing, occasionally Kyle heard comments about the wall but they were all positive.


    "How much do you think it cost?"


    "How did they build it?"


    "I don''t know about you but knowing it''s there makes me feel safe."


    "How long would it take my spit to reach the ground from the top?"


    See mostly positive, this was due to the additional defence this wall would provide against the beast in the nearby area. Seeing the reactions of the common people Kyle believed he had done the right thing and could only hope the following steps he took would also receive the acceptance of the common people.


    After a few hours of wandering it was time to head back and get changed into their Sunday best(even if there isn''t a Sunday in this world). Kyle returned to his room and got a suit out, this was a simple grey tailored suit, due to Kyle''s physique he had to say that he looked good.


    The ball was going to be happening in the grand hall of the main house so Kyle and his girls would need to make their way there. During the day Kyle found out the girls including Alena would get dressed at his parents rooms because they didn''t want to mess up their dresses.


    Kyle suspected that they also wanted to surprise him and Bruno because they had been told that they would change in the bastion and they would meet at the entrance when they were to be announced.


    Kyle could only sigh about what was coming. During his training with his father he had attended a few balls and upcoming would be the part he hated "mingling". Moving between various families and functionaries would drain him worse than his hardest training program.


    Kyle was seriously thinking of taking a weapon with him, just in case he needed to thin the crowd but decided this may be a bad idea as once you pop it can be pretty hard to stop.


    Kyle and Bruno met up at the entrance giving each other a quick look over. Nodding to each other and giving each other a thumbs up they made the long walk to the main house.


    "What do you think is going to happen tonight?"


    Bruno asked as he hadn''t really joined in with these situations before preferring to concentrate on training.


    "Social climbing, manipulation, jockeying for position and general douche baggery is my guess."


    Kyle didn''t hold those who habitually attended balls in high esteem. Perhaps today may be different because of the reason for the celebration but he didn''t hold out much hope.


    They reached the antechamber where they would wait for the ladies and found Landon, Harris and Bob were already present and sitting around with grumpy expressions.


    "What happened to you three?"


    Kyle asked curious as to why they were just sitting around.


    "The wife kicked me out when they wanted to get changed."


    "Your mother said I would just be in the way and I should go with dad."


    "I was going to enter the hall to see some friends when this pair grabbed me and decided misery loves company."


    Bob, Landon and Harris responded in sequence, it looked like they had been told to wait and sit here or at least Landon and Bob received their orders while Harris was dragged along for the ride.


    It may be a better idea not to poke a sleeping dragon so Kyle decided to change the direction of conversation.


    "Where are Neil and Clyde?"


    "Neil is escorting Beth and her father so he will meet us inside."


    Harris responded on his sons behalf with a happy look on his face. He had seen Neil at the fair earlier and was happy to see he had found himself a young lady. He knew his son was hung up on Beth and refused to entertain any other propositions; luckily it looked like his persistence was paying off.


    "Clyde is not doing so well, with his father abandoning him and rumours flying around he didn''t want to attend tonight but I told him it is best to face this head on."


    Landon said this about Clyde with a sad look on his face, he knew Clyde hadn''t done anything wrong but he was now the target some people chose.


    Kyle on hearing this gained a frightening expression on his face. He liked Clyde and hearing people were saying things about him because of things his father had done was like stepping on a nerve.


    "Father who has been saying things about Clyde?"


    Kyle spoke in a soft voice with each word spoken slowly and clearly. Landon looked at Kyle quickly and realised just how angry Kyle was at hearing his cousin was being blamed.


    "Kyle you can''t solve this situation with strength, this is where your favourite part of statecraft comes into play ''networking''."


    Landon admonished Kyle with a slight smile on his face which grew when he saw Kyle grimace.


    "Are you sure I can''t just beat with a chair, just a little."


    As they spoke a door opened on the back wall making them all turn to look.


    "Kyle you shouldn''t just think of beating people with chairs."


    "Damn."

 153 Chapter 153 The Room

    "Damn."


    Landon had his eyes wide open as he saw Maria walking through the door. He had a flush to his cheeks and a hungry look in his eyes. Maria was wearing a powder blue evening dress which ran to the floor with a split in the side to just above her knee.


    With her training and improved cultivation she had become more attractive and coupled with her already athletic physique she appeared beautiful. The dress was also different than most dresses available in this world.


    Kyle also saw her and was impressed with Nettie''s skills as he had only given her a vague description of the dresses he could remember with some random descriptions and she had made something wondrous.


    Kyle could only think calmly for a minute though because from behind Maria came Clara, Miranda and Elena. Each of them was also wearing dresses made for them in maroon, a silvery white and dark green respectively.


    Kyle had his eyes flickering between each of them and he seemed to be unsure where he should rest his eyes. Bruno wasn''t really bothered but took an appreciative appraisal of them before commenting.


    "Congratulations Kyle you''ve got some good looking girls."


    Kyle''s girls all smiled at Bruno''s comment before looking expectantly at Kyle who still seemed a little shell shocked and could only mumble.


    "Wowza."


    The girls were happy with this when they turned and dragged a blushing Alena to the front for Bruno to see; looking down for a minute she gathered her courage and looked up to see Bruno''s reaction.


    He was standing there with wide eyes and a dribble of blood could be seen coming from his nose. Kyle grinned at this after he had shaken his head a few time to clear it and decided to tease him.


    "Well you like your girl that much it gave you a nose bleed, never thought I''d see that in real life."


    Bruno didn''t respond, or blink Kyle didn''t even think he was even breathing. Death by cleavage what a way to go, Kyle snapped his fingers in front of his face trying to break him free of his shock. Breaking his attention Bruno blinked rapidly before taking a deep breath.


    Everyone in the room began to laugh and Alena approached her paramour.


    "I take it you like my dress?"


    She asked with a teasing smile while she was still blushing.


    "Yes, yep, yup, yarp it really suits you."


    It would be a good guess to assume that Bruno liked the way Alena looked in her new dress; this got him a brilliant smile for his efforts which once again made him look like he''d been hit around the head with a fish.


    While everyone was laughing and having a good time Bob was looking around with a concerned expression.


    "Hey where''s my better half?"


    The other ladies realised in their excitement that they had left one of their number languishing, they parted and turned back to the door where a red face could be seen peeking around the corner.


    "You know I''ve changed my mind, this new fashion just isn''t for me I''ll go and change into my regular dress."


    Before she could run away Winona received a shove from behind which made her stumble into full view. She was wearing a floor length evening dress all in black; it was loose around the legs so it didn''t have a slit like the rest but hugged her figure closely. Rather than being just a matt black it had reflective metals sewn into it making it seem to shimmer.


    "Hey looking good there gran."


    Kyle took the lead in the compliments.


    "Yeah I meant to ask how your figure is that good."


    "Wow mum you look great."


    "I second that mum, you should let Nettie make all your clothes."


    "Great my mother in law is getting more compliments than me."


    Winona was ignoring all these comment and was instead watching her husband. They had been together for so long that even if she liked the compliments the one she truly hoped would like her dress was Bob.


    Bob was looking at her with his eyes slightly squinted. It looked like he was concentrating or trying to recall a memory when Landon decided to jar him out of his thoughts.


    "Dad aren''t you going to say anything to mum?"


    This seemed to do the trick as his eyes returned to normal and he looked at Winona again.


    "Sorry dear, you look absolutely divine."


    "Thank you Bob but why did you look like that?"


    "Um well I was trying to work out how I successfully courted you considering how you look."


    "Aww."


    "Well looks like we know where Kyle gets his pickup lines."


    "Nice one dad."


    "You old honey dripper."


    Kyle could only face palm and was happy all the rooms had sound proofing, because based on Winona''s look she intended to really reward Bob.


    *Cough* "Isn''t anyone going to say something to me?"


    "Oh Shauna you were there to? Your dress also looks very beautiful."


    "Thanks I guess."


    Shauna had come in behind Winona and must have been the one to push her into the room, but while everyone was paying attention to Winona she had been largely ignored.


    ???Okay how long till we have to do this. The sooner it starts the sooner it''ll be over."


    Kyle was a firm believer in getting the stuff you hate out of the way as quickly as possible because the antici...pation of something is worse that the act itself.


    "Yeah I want to get this show on the road."


    Bob also appeared to share Kyle''s sentiment but with the way he was looking at Winona, it was for entirely different reasons.


    "Bob please; I don''t want to think about my grandfather being on the job okay."


    Kyle and everyone else could do without that image so Kyle spoke up on behalf of everyone.


    "It should be about 20 minutes until we will enter that hall. Isaiah will give us the countdown. Maria and I will go first with father and mother behind us. Harris and Kyle will be next and the rest will follow behind, everyone okay with their positions?"


    Landon asked as this would be a theatrical production so everyone needed to know their positions. Bob and Winona would be the big guns this time as 2 third stage cultivators should be enough to intimidate anyone left in the city.


    The plan for the evening was to sound out the remaining noble houses and if they could be roped in Kyle intended to use them as regents for new territory or any conquered cities. They would have many advantages but the largest being resources both cultivation and military.


    They had made a good advertisement with the battle against the Miles family and if the imperial garrison joined them there was a good chance they could recruit other imperial forces that had been left behind.


    Another bonus that Kyle would gain if these families chose to join them was access to their existing contacts in the various cities nearby, this would save time as he would only need to check those families he planned to recruit rather than all those present and chose from amongst their numbers.


    As always their largest stumbling block would be human resources, so once New Grange city was fully under control Kyle was thinking of creating some incentive or edict to increase procreation. Most guys wouldn''t need much encouragement, usually a hello from a pretty girl is enough to get men ready to go, but women would need something more in order to halt their own cultivation.


    "I wonder what the best way is to make women want to have children."


    Kyle mused aloud while looking up thoughtfully, everyone turned to look at him with varying looks.


    "Ah my baby wants to be a daddy."


    "Work hard my boy I want lots of grandkids."


    "Am I ready to be a great grandmother?"


    "I''ll work hard Kyle whenever you want me."


    "I''m not ready yet can we talk in a year or two."


    "Finally right get your pants off."


    "What is wrong with you lot, I was thinking about the shortage of people in the city!?"


    Kyle really wondered what was wrong with those he was closest to. Did he have an adverse affect on their brains or something?


    "Oh" x Everyone.


    "Excuse me we are about ready for you."


    Thankfully Isaiah decided to enter as they were about to make their entrance.


    "Right strap in everybody we''re going in."

 154 Chapter 154 Youve got the right to party

    "Right strap in everybody we''re going in."


    Landon was trying to lighten the mood while Kyle was looking a bit grumpy. His girls weren''t really worried about this as they knew he didn''t like these events and they had gotten used to it as they accompanied him to these things before.


    "Okay girls just remember if anyone tries hitting on you, you know what to do okay?"


    Kyle wanted to make sure that they were ready in case any of these kids went full young master on them. Miranda grinned maliciously and Clara cracked her knuckles, Elena wasn''t paying attention but of all of them Kyle was the least worried about her.


    "Bruno stick with Alena, some fool may try something as she isn''t directly connected to me and she may be seen as an easy target."


    Bruno moved closer to Alena and nodded to Kyle, Alena just looked at her boyfriend being protective and smiled before taking his arm once again.


    Bob and Winona saw how Kyle was treating this as if he was preparing for a battle and approved, because for all intents and purposes this was a battle just of the most annoying variety.


    Landon led the way in with Maria on his arm; she had a bright smile on her face apparently unconcerned with Kyle''s annoyance at having to join this farce. Maria had spent a great deal of her life having to deal with these situations and had gained an immunity to the snide comments and backhanded compliments.


    They walked towards a raised dais from which they would address the crowd while a crier announced their entrance.


    "Lord and Lady Powell accompanied by the third stage former Lord and Lady Powell."


    The crier didn''t include Kyle or the rest of their retinue but they had included Bob and Winona along with the cultivation stage as a not so subtle threat.


    Those in the crowd watched them; some had apprehension in their eyes while a couple had some degree of hope. There was also a small amount that had anger in their eyes, these were the ally''s of the Miles family who hadn???t retreated and now came in the hope of gaining another foothold or backer.


    Kyle scanned the crowd and noted some members who he was getting a dark vibe from and was intending to have them investigated.


    Faye and Ash were also present in the surroundings with the ''death watch'' being visible as security and ''steel lotus'' being in the shadows. This must have been due to Isaiah expecting some kind of trouble and placing guards in an attempt to head this off.


    Landon reached the dais and climbed it so he could address the crowd Maria was to his left and they were flanked by Bob and Winona, Kyle and the rest moved in front of the crowd facing Landon to hear his speech.


    Most of the people also turned to Landon to hear what he had to say with a few whispering to each other. Kyle also noticed Willem standing to the side with his mother, sister and a couple of the surviving elders who Kyle had granted mercy to.


    "My friends as you are aware momentous events have happened in these last few days. Those who wished harm to all of us and our citizens have been routed. Now is the time to rebuild, or it would be but my friends I have received some information I feel I must share with you."


    Landon began his speech, while looking over everyone. Kyle appeared to be watching his father attentively when in truth he was using his abilities to observe the crowd and their reactions as he knew his dad was about to drop a truth bomb on them.


    "My friends the reason behind the recent trouble and also the lack of assistance we are receiving is due to the betrayal of the empire. We have recently discovered the empire has been losing ground at the Berreth pass and have decided to abandon the northern territories."


    When Landon said this a wave of whispers was heard from the crowd as they spoke about what was just heard but Landon quickly halted this.


    "Please wait until I have finished, you can discuss this shortly but there is more you need to know. The Miles family discovered this with the assistance of the imperial overseer and decided to seize control. My family and our friends have decided to forge a new empire ourselves and we are now offering you the chance to join us in its creation."


    Landon didn''t attempt to stop the talking at this point and merely stepped down so he could mingle and answer some questions. Leonard of the Black family and his wife were also accosted by those present.


    The head of the Tor family was also present but had a worried look on his face. Beth was also with him and Neil was standing to her side holding her hand. Kyle decided to speak to the head of the Tor family.


    "Hello sir how are you doing?"


    Kyle asked politely while nodding to Beth and Neil to whom he received a smile from Beth and thumbs up from Neil.


    "I''m doing well Kyle just a little surprised about the information we received. I knew the empire''s movements were strange but didn''t realise that was the whole impetus behind this little scuffle. By the way you can call me Talen."


    "Okay Talen but what do you seem to be worried about?"


    "Well I know my family isn''t as powerful as yours and if you want you can just roll us over with no real effort. I just fear what will happen to us during this change."


    "I think father will be speaking to you all individually over the coming days but I can give you some details of our plan. We are not seeking to usurp your individual authority instead we want to expand the human sphere of influence. Let me ask you, do you know how many cities we''ve lost over the last five hundred years?"


    Talen was thrown by the sudden question, but began to think. He could remember there were 5 mid sized cities that had been lost along with 30 or so small cities within his lifetime. He hadn''t thought of this due to the intervening years between them but thinking like this it was a lot.


    "That we can find we have lost almost 150 cities and that has meant our territory has shrunk accordingly. We plan to reclaim this land."


    Talen was caught up while Kyle spoke passionately before he noticed a problem.


    "How will you defend these cities?"


    Kyle smiled at this before looking out of a window towards the wall.


    "Each city we recover will have a wall like this. I believe father will show you some of the features of the wall so you should see the features of it before you make any decisions."


    Talen nodded while those around them had been listening in on their conversation with attention. Kyle shook Talen''s hand before moving into the crowd greeting people here and there. He heard his father discussing with some old men about their cultivation technique and that if they took the seals they would also be able to receive the benefits from this.


    As Kyle moved further away from the older people he began to encounter members of his generation before he reached Willem and his family who were still haunting the perimeter.


    "Will how are you doing?"


    Kyle greeted Willem familiarly while smiling at Lilith and Rose who were looking much better although they did seem to be trying to avoid contact with other men.


    "I''m well thank you Kyle; it looks like you did what you set out to do."


    "I''m afraid it''s only the start and I''ll need your help with this."


    Willem knew Kyle was trying to give him some standing for the upcoming years and was thankful that Kyle would have his back and quietly swore to himself that if Kyle needed him he would be there.


    "Yo guys what''s up."


    As they were talking Bruno approached them, he didn''t have any animosity to Willem and didn''t look down on him simply because Kyle had told him not to. Bruno had decided a long time ago just to follow Kyle''s lead and this choice had yet to steer him wrong.


    "Not much just chatting, where are the girls?"


    Kyle asked suddenly looking around as he had left Bruno with them in an attempt to prevent some horn dogs approaching them.


    "Oh they were just talking to some of the other girls over there.???


    Bruno pointed but as they looked over they saw some swaggering muppets approaching the girls.


    "Oh should we step in?"


    Bruno asked as he saw Alena''s face take on a cold countenance while Kyle''s girls looked much the same as usual.


    "Nah it''s time these pillocks learnt not to mess with my ladies. Willem who''s your money on for getting kerb stomped first?"


    "Um I''m thinking the twat with the cravat."


    "Bruno what about you."


    "I''ve got a fiver on the one with the quiff."


    "Okay I''ll take scarf boy."


    Lilith and Rose were surprised by the apparent lack of worry the boy''s had for the girls safety but they didn''t realise just how strong and crazy the girls could get.


    As they watched the young men approached their women before quiff boy leaned in and said something to Alena. Her face went white then red with anger, Bruno clenched his fist which made a cracking sound as the muscles tensed.


    Alena said something back and the other girls laughed, this seemed to incense the men and suddenly scarf boy lunged at Alena. Before he moved more than a foot Miranda kneed him in the gut before moving back out of the way as Clara made a back flip catching scarf boy on the chin sending him ass over tit finally Elena stomped on his package finishing the job.


    "Oh why always the balls."


    "They think it''s all over, well it is now."


    "I have the weirdest boner right now."

 155 Chapter 155 War never changes??

    "I have the weirdest boner right now."


    "What?"


    "Who?"


    "Why?"


    ....


    "Okay as bro''s I suggest we never discuss this again agreed?"


    "Agreed."


    "Agreed."


    "Anyway let''s see how the girls are getting on."


    Kyle said before turning back to the brawl going on in the middle of the hall. It had grown in proportion with many younger members joining one side or another. These clear battle lines were caused by their family''s alliances and the youngsters would always stand on the same side as their elders.


    None of the older members had made any move or attempt to stop this as they watched how the children dealt with this. Suddenly one of the kids who were attempting to pressure the girls took it a step too far and drew a blade.


    This weapon was only ceremonial in nature which was why he was permitted to carry it, but even with a blunted edge a steel weapon could do a lot of damage. Even if the girls would be at no disadvantage even being unarmed Kyle had had enough.


    "Oh boys."


    "Huh."


    They turned to the source of this strange accent and say something coming towards them which didn''t make sense.


    "What''s that?"


    "The closer it get''s the more it looks like a table."


    *Smash*


    Yup it was definitely a table which Kyle had grabbed and with a spin had launched at these kids. When it made contact they were carried away with it and ended up in a heap against the wall surrounded by the debris.


    "Who hit''s someone with a table!?"


    A voice from the opposing crowd shouted. The people who had sided with Kyle''s girls included Archie Black and Beth Tor along with his cousins and some allied houses, all began to laugh at this while Kyle pondered for a minute before responding.


    "Well my mum said I''m not allowed to hit people with chairs."


    Miranda and Clara burst out laughing while a few of the older generation had funny faces as they tried to contain their laughter. The older opposing faction didn''t take this levity in the proper way and one of them who was apparently one of the boys fathers stalked over.


    "How dare you assault my son I demand compensation, we''ll take the girls who caused this fracas and they will serve my son."


    This moron spoke as if he was in control of the situation. Bob and Winona moved ever so slightly apart as they intended to attack and remove this fool but Landon stopped them.


    "Don''t worry Kyle can deal with him; we have to watch his back in case the others decide to move."


    Bob wasn''t happy about this as he didn''t want his grandson to be in any kind of danger; Winona moved closer to him and put her hand on his arm before whispering to him.


    "It''s okay dear if Landon says Kyle can deal with it, let him deal with it."


    Bob sighed before nodding and turning back to Kyle. For his part Kyle was looking at this old pervert without a smile and his eyes seemed unfathomable as he didn''t respond and simply stared.


    "Ha boy to scared to speak, it''s good you know your place. Now girls come with me before I have to hurt you."


    As the old man reached out towards Clara, Kyle moved faster than those around could register. Grabbing the old pervert''s wrist with one hand Kyle flipped over him and using the hand as leverage swung back around and landed both feet in the man''s kidney.


    With no other option the man bent sideways in pain allowing Kyle even greater leverage which he used to pull the man off of his centre of balance allowing him to throw him using both legs at the same wall his son had ended up at.


    *Smash* *Crumble*


    The man hadn''t simply hit the wall as the kids had but had gone right through it and was now unconscious on the ground. Kyle had rolled as he had launched the man away from himself and was already on his feet ready for the next opponent.


    "Kyle we could have dealt with him."


    Clara said with a sigh, she like Kyle was there for them and taught them his fighting style but sometimes she wanted to cause some chaos on her own.


    "Sorry Clara dear but this was part of a larger political scheme so I had to show some class, plus didn''t it get you all hot and bothered when I came in like a wrecking ball?"


    Clara went red at this and Miranda was looking at him with a feverish gaze. Elena was looking at the desert table which was stacked with lots of confections she wanted to sample. Alena was standing slightly behind Bruno who was staring at the opposing young members.


    Willem was guarding his mother and sister. The situation was getting tense and could kick off at any minute but with the youngsters being here the elders were holding back as they didn''t want the kids to get caught up in a fight between them.


    "MLG 360 Noscpoe!"


    Several cream deserts disappeared from the table much to Elena''s horror and ended up in the faces of the front line of the opposition.


    "Well Susan has arrived."


    Kyle said while wiping some apple topping from the desert that had flown and hit his cheek. It looks like the situation wouldn''t deteriorate much further as a few of the elders had laughed at this which broke the tension.


    "Susan you wasted perfectly good sweets now you must die."


    A desolate voice radiated out and all eyes were drawn to Elena who had somehow appeared next to the desert table and was hefting a custard ¨¦clair in her hand.


    "Now Elena we can talk about this no need to take it so *splat*."


    Elena took an ¨¦clair to the face and now had thick creamy goodness dripping down her face. Kyle was laughing about this while everyone else didn''t quite know what to make of this turn of events.


    "He Suzy that''s a really good look for you. I hope you at least got dinner first."


    Everyone froze for a second and some seemed to be trying to work out what he meant before Susan snapped.


    "Get ready scrub you''re gonna get it."


    Grabbing a nearby tart she hurled this at Kyle who calmly dodged and the tart exploded over a lower noble showering those nearby in fruit puree. This was all it took, suddenly everyone was grabbing whatever they could lay their hands on and began throwing food at each other.


    Nobody had said anything except for an occasional insult but none of the opposing people went for weapons or even the cutlery on the table. This turned into simple good natured fun, a few servants walked in the room and saw noble''s old and young running around throwing food at each other while laughing uproariously.


    The servants looked at each other before shaking their heads and closing the doors and said to themselves.


    "What is wrong with rich people?"


    If the general populace had seen this Kyle couldn''t help but wonder how they would react. As he was thinking of this he matrix dodged several donuts which came flying his way.


    "Olay."


    "Stand still so I can hit you with this cake."


    "Susan that is a multi tiered cake. You should really try and wear it yourself."


    As Susan was holding the large three tiered cake above her head Kyle threw a scone which hit her hand allowing the entire cake to slide off its board and end up completely covering her. This was the signal to stop the great pie fight which would now be forever remembered in the annuls of history.


    "Susan looks like a snowman."


    Elena said before walking over to the white icing covered Susan and drew her finger through the sweet and tasted it.


    "Um not bad Kyle I want one of these when we get a chance."


    "Yup no prob anyone else have any preferences?"


    Kyle asked his girls who were looking at the wreckage of the feast littering the hall. Kyle thought they may be angry or confused as nothing like this has happened before.


    "Hum I quite liked the strawberry ¨¦clair."


    Miranda said while taking the remains of said ¨¦clair from her hair and took a little taste of it.


    "I''m partial to the roulade personally."


    That was Clara''s response which made Kyle raise an eyebrow as it looked like she was wearing the roulade on her growing assets.


    "I want a creampie."

 156 Chapter 156 Going to the bath house

    "I want a creampie."


    "*Sigh* Of course you do Susan I would expect nothing less from you."


    Responded Kyle with a long suffering sigh. You could hear the tiredness in his voice when he responded to Susan''s newest proclamation. Not all of the younger people who heard this pair understood what was implied in this statement while others snorted into their drinks.


    Clyde was laughing quietly to himself as he stood with a red faced Beth and a confused Neil. Neil looked to Clyde and wanted to know why so many people were laughing.


    "Clyde what''s so funny there bud?"


    Clyde looked at his older cousin and realised that even though he had trained and served with the imperial army he was rather innocent; deciding to screw with the new couple Clyde decided to dump this on Beth.


    "Look your girlfriend seems to know, why don''t you ask her?"


    Clyde stated before running away to watch from a distance. Neil turned to Beth with a raised eyebrow which forced her to look around for assistance. Seeing Kyle and Susan were still talking she had an idea.


    "Why don''t we wait for your cousin and his friend to finish talking, context is important in these situations."


    Neil nodded before paying attention to Kyle; Clyde could only think to himself ''well done'' to the way Beth dealt with his older cousin.


    Back with Kyle and Susan the crowd was watching as this third level cultivator who was known as the ''seer'' was being treated like an unruly child by a well child.


    "Susan do you say things that that can be misconstrued accidentally or did you take classes."


    "Oh no it''s a god given gift. With this mouth I can make a 50 year old whore blush."


    "Of that I have no doubt so why do I always end up being the straight man for your comedy skit."


    "Well for one you don''t blush and for two you''re the only one who can keep up with me."


    "Fine but now we''ve got stuff to do."


    The surrounding people watched this and most of the outsiders had similar thoughts, along the lines of why is this third stage cultivator like this. While they were speaking a voice fell from beside them.


    "Why would you want to make a 50 year old prostitute blush?"


    From out of left field it''s Elena. This made everyone almost fall over when they heard her question. This shouldn''t be what you are asking, the high and mighty of New Grange City were looking to each other unsure of what they should do or say when the awkward situation was broken by a voice filled with mirth.


    "Yes this is what people should be doing rather than fighting with each other, we should be having fun and working together to build a brighter future rather than ending up like them."


    Landon had turned this situation into a political boost and indicated to the hole in the wall where the noble father and son had struck earlier. During the cake war they had sloped off unnoticed by everyone barring Kyle who had kept his senses on them in case they tried anything.


    Kyle nodded towards Faye who responded with a thumbs up indicating that ''steel lotus'' was already monitoring them and gathering evidence that could be used against them.


    "Now I think we could all do with getting cleaned up, I hoped to discuss our plans further but I''ll arrange meetings with several of you at the same time over the next few days."


    Landon was arranging to speak to multiple members at the same time so they all knew what they were dealing with and could act as witnesses for each other, ensuring no one received special treatment or privileges.


    "Now if you''ll excuse me I think I need another bath. Talen, Leonard you and your families can use our facilities because I would still like to speak to you before you go home."


    "No worries Don I''ll use the baths at little Kyle''s place come on Tal you gotta try the open air bath''s the kids got."


    Leonard had a habit of shortening down the names of those he was close to or considered friends, in this case he had taken to calling Landon Don and Talen Tal much to their annoyance, but Landon had come to know of Leonards personality and knew he didn''t mean anything by it.


    "Yeah I''ll join you in a bit Lee, Talen you had better go with him or you won''t hear the end of it."


    "Okay I suppose."


    Talen responded while being a little confused. He knew that the Black and Powell families were close but he hadn''t realised just how close they were, this surprise was mirrored by the other noble families.


    Who amongst them would freely use the bathing facilities of the other houses where they would have no means to defend themselves or escape if anything happened?


    "Neil you and Beth can also use the facilities at my bastion as Uncle Leonard has apparently volunteered them to use. Harris you''ll come along as well yes?"


    Kyle decided it would be better if everyone went together. The open air bathing area in his bastion was segregated by gender so there was no problem with having everyone over for a pool party as such.


    "What the hell I''m in."


    Harris responded without really knowing why Leonard was so excited about the open air baths. As this was happening Kyle noticed Clyde was turning away with a sad look on his face. Kyle could feel his emotions and could tell that he didn''t think he had a place in the family anymore, well that wasn''t going to happen.


    "Clyde where are you creeping off to? If I have to deal with this bunch old degenerates you aren''t escaping."


    Kyle rushed over and wrapped an arm around Clyde''s neck and began dragging him back towards the family. Landon and Harris saw this and realised what Kyle was doing, they decided it would be best to let the younger generation deal with this while they helped where they could.


    "Yup little cuz you ain''t getting out of this plus we need to get you a girl. I''m sure Beth has some friends she can set you up with."


    Neil had also rushed over when he saw Kyle man handling Clyde back towards their group and now it looked like they would bodily carry him if he tried to escape again.


    "You''ll have to forgive our youngsters, they''ve always been very close."


    Landon directed this to the nobles who were still milling around waiting for Landon to call an end to the evening. They saw what was intended by this, that Clyde was still part of their family regardless of what his father did earning them a good evaluation from almost all those present.


    Unknown to them at this point the servants would spread this amongst the commoners gaining their respect as well.


    "Well we''ll head out so I bid you men a good evening, just remember we are planning on making a new empire were all prosper and you are all welcome to join us."


    With that Landon led his family out while Kyle and Neil hoisted Clyde up a little higher taking him to the head of the column. Beth had been surrounded by the girls and they had begun questioning her and laughing together.


    Talen saw this and was happy with how quickly she was being accepted into what had every chance of being her new family. He always regretted not having a son but he loved and doted on his daughter.


    Luckily she wasn''t stuck up or had her head turned by all the finery in her life. Her mother had been raised as a merchant and Talen also had talent as a merchant so she had been raised mixing with commoners and nobility as the need called for.


    She was well matched with Neil as he was raised a noble but had experience in the army working with commoners and had even been saved by them during subjugation expeditions. This meant he didn''t look down on them either.


    Talen looked over this mixed and eclectic group and could only smile. Landon saw this and approached him.


    "It''s a strange group isn''t it?"


    "Yes but it seems to suit you well."


    "Yup but it''ll fit you before you know it."


    They turned and looked back at their group with a smile. Suddenly Neil got a strange look on his face before looking at his father.


    "Dad what''s a creampie?"

 157 Chapter 157 Bath time

    "Dad what''s a creampie?"


    Harris looked at his son with some surprise and an equal measure of embarrassment. He looked at those around him hoping for some help but they all avoided eye contact. Kyle spoke up and Harris hoped it was a lifeline being thrown his way.


    "Neil you spent a few years in the imperial army. During that time there must have been some free time your squad went to the city. What did you do when you went there?"


    Everyone knows the kind of stuff soldiers do when they''re on leave, so Kyle thought that Neil would have at least some experience with a woman but now he didn''t know what to think.


    "Oh when leave came up it always seem to fall when I had to be on guard duty. I got my time off afterwards so I never missed out. Why do you ask?"


    "No reason but just to appease my curiosity, who was it that assigned you to guard duty when the others went to the city?"


    "It was our staff sergeant; she was a hardnosed old bat but when she found out I had lost my mother she kind of took me under her wing and looked after me."


    Kyle had a picture forming in his mind of this staff sergeant. She seemed to have adopted Neil as a surrogate son and wanted to keep him away from the corruption of the flesh so to speak so he never got to experience what the others in his unit did. Plus she probably kept the others from talking to him about these things so he was still somewhat childish about these things.


    "Uncle Harris I think it''s overdue for you to tell Neil about the facts of life. My advice to you is treat it like something painful just do it fast and it''ll hurt less."


    Harris listened to Kyle with a slightly pale face before nodding his head and took Neil apart from the rest to give him the talk. The other men in the crowd watched with sympathetic gazes as they knew how embarrassing the talk between father and son could get, while Beth was red to the tips of her ears while the other ladies began to make fun of her.


    "Oh Beth this is a good thing you can train him as you like."


    Maria fired the opening shot and it was a hit.


    "Yup he''s been trained by Kyle as well so his body will have a lot of stamina so you''ll have some fun."


    Winona followed up with a one, two combo making Beth a little wobbly on her feet.


    "Oh will we have a little niece soon, that''s nice we''ll be able to show her the joys of sweets."


    "Yeah we''ll have to get the marriage done first though once Neil knows what''s to cum he won''t be able to hold back for long. Yay for wedding cake."


    Finally Elena and Susan pulled a tag team putting Beth out of commission. She looked to her father for help getting out of this situation with her possible baby daddy''s family making fun of her. Talen however was hiding on the other side of Bob pretending not to see what was going on.


    They carried on walking to Kyle''s bastion with Beth looking daggers at her father for not backing her up, but he knew better than to get between women in this situation and could only hope his wife got back soon.


    Harris and Neil eventually caught up both sporting embarrassed expressions with Neil looking at Beth from the corner of his eye Leonard and Landon were talking with Talen and Bob about city locations and places where they could expand to easily.


    Bruno and Kyle were walking with them but weren''t involved in the discussion as this would be decided later and the adults were just brainstorming. Kyle already had a rough plan of action in mind and was simply listening to them for possible ideas to refine the plan he had in mind while Bruno was looking at the clouds.


    The girls were still in their own group laughing and talking, Kyle didn''t know what they were talking about but with the occasional glances at the men he had a rough guess. Neil, Archie and Clyde were somewhat apart talking with serious looks on their faces which caught Kyle''s attention.


    He moved to this small group quietly so he could hear what they were discussing.


    "Well I''m with Beth now so I plan to ask for her hand as soon as it''s convenient. I''ve already sounded out her father about it; he wants to wait for his wife to return before agreeing. What about you two have you got any ladies in mind?"


    "I''ve been speaking to a lady from one of our subordinate houses. I think she likes me but it''s hard to tell as she might be just doing as her parents tell her. I want a wife who will talk to me and be with me through anything. I guess I''ll just have to see how it goes."


    Archie responded to Neil looking a little down hearted. He was a good guy at heart and wanted a true love and the thought that a girl was with him just because she was told to be went against his own desires.


    "Don''t worry bro we''ve got your back right Clyde."


    "Yeah if you need help just let us know and we''ll be there."


    This here was true broism; a friend would help you kill someone while a true bro would help you bury the body.


    "Thanks guys but let''s focus on Clyde, who are you into I''ve given mine now you need to share as well."


    Clyde looked around quickly and noticed Kyle and Bruno were nearby. Kyle simply smiled and gave him a thumbs up while Bruno was still thinking about something else.


    "Well I''ve been dating a girl from a commoner family; I''ve had to keep it quiet because if my dad found out he would have caused problems."


    Clyde seemed a little down when he spoke about his father but you could also see a little happiness in his eyes now he was free. Neil looked at his cousin for a second before speaking gently.


    "Clyde sorry to have to put it this way but does she know who you are?"


    "It''s fine Neil I know why you are asking, she didn''t know who I am until a few days ago. I told her just before the tournament as I would be seen by so many people she may find out anyway."


    "How long had you been going out with her before that?"


    Archie asked with interest as he hadn''t heard this before. Kyle had his senses up and noticed the others were also paying attention now and had quietly moved closer listening to what they were talking about. As cultivators their hearing was much stronger than ordinary people.


    "It must be around three years now. I''ve even had a few dinners with her parent. They are simple people the father is a cobbler and the mother is a housewife, but they''ve taken care of me whenever I''ve visited."


    Everyone could see the look on Clyde''s face when he spoke about them, he looked at them like they were his extended family given they cared more for him than his own father did. Realising what he had Clyde quickly looked around and realised everyone was watching him. This made him slightly nervous, he knew these were good people but they were still nobles and they may take exception to him liking a commoner.


    Kyle saw Clyde''s nervousness and could only shake his head before reaching up and slapping Clyde around the side of the head.


    "What are you worried about, look at my girls they''re all of commoner descent and do my parents look down on them. No they don''t so don''t let your imagination get away with you. If people can''t look at others for who they are they will never find the hidden gems all around us."


    Clyde looked at Kyle with happiness and checked on the others who were smiling at him. It looked like he could pursue the girl he like openly from now on and his family would support him.


    "Dad I think we should invite Clyde''s possible in-laws to dinner. How about we invite them to my place first as we have more commoners at my table so they''ll feel more comfortable."


    Kyle decided to be a matchmaker and push the issue allowing Clyde to have a chance at a love life that may have never been, Landon grinned at this and responded.


    "Oh absolutely but as Clyde will be brought up as part of our main branch Maria and I should be there to discuss with his in-laws."


    "Winona and I should also be there, you know as moral support."


    Bob also invited himself and his wife with a big grin on his face as he was planning on messing with his grandchildren, but with Kyle there he may regret this decision.


    "Come on hurry up I want to get in the open air baths."


    They were brought out of their family moment by Susan who was bouncing around with impatience like a little Chihuahua. This brought a smile to Kyle who ushered everyone on to keep Susan happy.


    I little while later Kyle and the male group were chilling in the warm bath enjoying the open air secure in the knowledge the walls would protect them. Kyle was enjoying some fruit juice when he noticed Neil was acting strangely.


    "Cuz what''s up?"


    "I kind of want to see what''s on the other side of the wall but I know it''s wrong."


    "It''s okay that''s simple and healthy curiosity, just don''t look as that would be wrong wait for the girl to want you to see her."


    "Okay I''ll heed your advice."


    Neil relaxed back into the water when they heard from the other side of the wall some voices.


    "Susan what the hell are you doing up there."


    "Elena why are you trying to drill a hole through the wall."


    "What I wanna have a look and this is the only way."


    "What you''ve never heard of a glory hole?"


    Kyle could only sigh and when Neil looked his way he only shook his head then began to countdown.


    "3....2....1 and boom."


    "Ahhhhhhh."


    "Uggggggg."


    On the other side of the wall you had a wonderful view of Susan and Elena being blown away in a beautiful arc. Of course Kyle had place arrays on the wall to deny perverts but he always thought they would be on the men''s side.


    "Why do I have an afro."

 158 Chapter 158 Bath talk

    "Why do I have an afro?"


    "Pervert girls get an afro Susan, by the way were you trying to peek at my son?"


    Kyle could hear Maria with anger and amusement in her voice, Kyle noticed she left Elena alone as she was a young girl and also one of his "fianc¨¦e''s".


    "Maria my dear student that wasn''t my intention."


    "Oh so you were planning at looking at my Bob?"


    "Or my Bruno?"


    "Or my Neil?"


    "Anyone got an axe?"


    "Who the fudge nuggets was that?"


    "Don''t worry about that Winona we have some very gifted but eccentric people around us. So Susan returning back to you, who were you trying to peek at hum?"


    Kyle could almost picture Susan backing up against a wall as the other girls surrounded her. This wasn''t far from the truth but to maintain a certain level of decorum Kyle contacted the house spirit through a nearby command array and asked it to produce a silencing formation on the dividing wall to isolate the sounds between the two areas.


    While all this joy and happiness was going on a few more people entered the baths including Ash and Zak. Zak had a few bottles with him to enjoy while soaking.


    "Hi Zak how are you doing?"


    Kyle asked as he hadn''t had a chance to speak with him much in the last few weeks and only received his reports on their progress which only gave him numbers.


    "I''m doing very well, we''ve got some new people joining us of their own volition and as you directed we''ve allocated a full half of our required staffing to the slums district. These people have been directed to use 2 days a week to help building and repairing facilities in the slums. With others now getting involved and the wall protecting them we should have a new fully functioning district in a few months."


    Kyle could see Zak''s pride at this; Kyle had given basic instructions to Zak and the available masons and builders who would oversee this project. The day to day management and allocation of resources rested largely on Zak however, so for all intents and purposes this was Zak''s project while Kyle was the financier.


    While some would see this as an unnecessary expense Kyle didn''t think like that. With a fully operational district crime would go down and taxes and commercial revenue would begin rolling in. This was how Kyle had been operating since he had arrived in this world.


    Its tactic of emplace and advance, make sure what you already possess is defended and completely in control before moving to your next target. While some of the situations had forced his hand, he still largely followed this creed.


    "Excellent do you have numbers for people currently in the slum?"


    "Rough estimates are at 140,000 but that is very rough, we have also the issue with the orphans. We have several orphanages active now allowing for about 2,000 residents but with our estimates there should be between 20,000 to 30,000 orphans and un-homed children in the slum zone right now."


    "Okay, okay let me think for a second. Right move up the priority of the academy, with that in place we can use that as a temporary home for about 12''000 once it''s in place. For now open up any free property on our land and I''ll speak to the other nobles about freeing up some space in their areas."


    As Kyle and Zak were speaking Landon, Leonard and Talen approached them. They had heard what they were talking about and decided to join.


    "Kyle I thought we were supposed to be on a break at least until we exit the baths?"


    "Sorry dad I just wanted an update and you know how these things go."


    Landon looked at his son with pride before turning to Tal and Leo.


    "See you guys this is how a noble should act, he worries about the people first. Remember what we spoke about before how the new empire will run, Nobles lead they don''t rule and in turn we are supported and protected by the populace."


    "Yes we''ve already heard this Don, but it''s good to see it in action. Kyle my Tor family will open any free properties for your use and I''ll see if any of our people are willing to take in any of the youngsters.


    "Kid me and mine will do the same, ARCHIE get over here we''re having a proper mans discussion you should hear this as well."


    "Neil, Clyde as future leaders you should also join in."


    With this everyone was now resting at the edge of the baths discussing and laughing while planning ahead. This was strange as many ideas and plans were thrown out some interesting and some weird but all were considered.


    Gradually more people filtered in and joined in, this included Willem who also agreed to open his properties on the promise they would be returned as and when they were needed. Kyle also discussed with him about adopting some of the orphans into his family and giving them his family name due to their low numbers.


    The discussion eventually came around to the academy that Kyle intended to have built over the previous overseer''s property.


    "So this academy you are planning on teaching your cultivation technique freely?"


    Willem asked incredulously.


    "Yes but only the first level. You are aware that without the subsequent levels they will eventually plateau, but this will give them a good starting point and once they reach the age of 12 they can decide to take the secret seal to receive further training."


    "What else will the academy cover?"


    Leo asked with interest as he knew there would be more to this than just marital training.


    "Of course we will train them in the use of weapons and magic as needed but only up to a certain level. These people will become part of our home guard. Everyone is a cultivator and as such should take up arms to defend their homes when needed. We will train men and women equally as all need to be able to ensure their own survival."


    All those present nodded at this because if there was a beast outbreak they wouldn''t care if you were a man or woman they would attack regardless.


    "Also there will be elective courses in all professions this will include the top end like alchemy, arraymanship and blacksmithing, but we will also cover building, manufacturing even hunting and exploration."


    The others were surprised at this as they never considered teaching large numbers of people these vocations.


    "Why do you want to train people freely in these forms and what will we do for labourers?"


    It was Talen who asked this, as a merchant he knew about the means of production and the time it took to learn the skills to manufacture goods.


    "Not everyone will want to continue to learn so there will always be people who take on the roles of labourers. There will be systematic testing and those who can''t pass will not continue their education once they have reached the minimum criteria. I will also be introducing a new profession through the academy ''scholar''."


    Kyle looked at everyone as they were thinking about what he said and couldn''t find fault with his school plan but some had questions about this profession.


    "Kyle I know a scholar is a learned man but how can that be a profession?"


    Landon asked as he hadn''t spoken with Kyle about his far flung plans yet as they had been so caught up in the here and now.


    "That is basically what it is; we will search for the best minds in the younger generation. We will provide them with the funding and support to research and develop whatever field they are gifted in. This will be whether it''s in blacksmithing to cooking anything that can help us develop should and will be invested in."


    The others hadn''t thought along these lines but thinking of how powerful Kyle was becoming and how he did this through experimentation and investigation they couldn''t refute his stance on development.


    "Alright we''ve got your back right everyone?"


    Landon asked while everyone nodded their heads.


    "Great now I''m going to get out otherwise I''m going to start pruning."


    Kyle said with a smile as they had been talking for an hour or two for now and Kyle could really do with getting some sleep. Once he was dressed in a soft bathrobe he exited the baths and headed to his room only to be greeted by something unexpected.


    "What happened to your eyebrows??"

 159 Chapter 159 Afro woman

    "What happened to your eyebrows??"


    On opening the door he saw Clara pointing at Elena who had her back to the door. When she heard the door opening she turned and faced Kyle whose eyes were immediately drawn to her brow. Like Clara had said Elena was now missing both eyebrows leaving her completely smooth and it gave her a rather otherworldly look.


    Turning away from Kyle, Elena began to address Clara.


    "When I got shocked away from the wall I decided to try again, but it looks like it gets stronger each time you try."


    She said before crossing her arms and nodding her head like she had just proved a point. Clara looked over Elena''s soldier staring at Kyle hoping he could do something about her. Kyle coughed into his fist before asking a question that was burning in his mind.


    "Elena how many times did you try to break through the wall? The shock array shouldn''t have anywhere enough power to scorch off your brows."


    "Oh I stopped counting after the first five tries."


    Kyle closed his eyes and rubbed the bridge of his nose when he heard this.


    "Did Susan also continue trying to see the other side?"


    Kyle felt his curiosity peaked when his thoughts turned in this direction. How would Susan look with no brows and an afro?


    "No she quit because she lacks the will to follow through."


    "Okay well that''s something then. Anyway I''m going to bed as it''s been a long day, are you guys going to stay with me or staying in your own rooms?"


    "Staying with you."


    "Sleeping here."


    "Ghmiphas."


    Miranda had just come out of the bathroom with her toothbrush sticking out of her mouth and trying to respond at the same time.


    "Um so demure aren''t you girls. Anyway I''m going to brush my teeth as well before bed."


    With that another day passed with Kyle once again being smothered by his girls. Waking up the next morning he found himself wondering how long he would be able to keep his chastity with these girls being all over him all the time.


    Elena was the first to start moving and she crawled up him to give him a good morning kiss.


    "Morning Kyle."


    "Good morning Elena, I''ve been meaning to ask how''s your brother doing with you being here so much?"


    "Oh he''s doing well, his friend Theo''s parents have kind of adopted him so we can have a little space but you know I always talk to him during meal times and keep an eye on him during training."


    Elena smiled a little when she spoke about Chad, even if she wasn''t truly his sister she did care for the boy and having some space made the transition a little easier. Plus when Elena had come out from her coma Kyle had told everyone that due to a mishap with her cultivation technique her personality may be a little off so everyone including her brother accepted her new self.


    Kyle feared that Chad may feel he was being left behind by his sister and he really didn''t want the child to feel abandoned. But with a new surrogate family he should be well looked after and may now have the chance to have a somewhat enjoyable childhood.


    Shortly after Kyle and Elena''s little chat the others woke up and they all got ready before heading down for breakfast, which was as chaotic as usual with some new additions turning up including his cousins, Beth and the Black family along with Kyle''s parents and his uncle. With this it looked like the family has grown again.


    Kyle did wonder if he would need to remodel the bastion so the kitchen was larger if his extended family increased any further. Kyle grabbed One, Ash and Faye to check on their new distribution of forces.


    "Currently ''shadow hand'' have enough personnel for New Grange City and we''ve also got contacts in the nearest cities so we can know if anyone is planning on making a move on us from outside."


    One reported to Kyle with a little pride as he had expanded the ''shadow hand'' with the help of his brothers freeing up Kyle''s time which is what he had told them he needed them to do as he was tied up with other things.


    "Good I want to begin making inroads into the surrounding cities to form a bulwark around us, unfortunately that will only cover our east and south. That leaves us open to beast attacks from the west and north. Ash how are our military forces looking?"


    "Excellent after the last series of battles we have captured and pushed into service several thousand more men. With the slavery seals and secrecy seals placed on them with the promise of being released from slavery after a certain point they have all begun training. You''ll have an effective offensive force in a couple of months."


    Ash responded with a happy face as he was now in a situation where he was in command of a large force like a general which he never thought would happen in this life as all the generals in the imperial army are from noble houses.


    "Good but has there been any word from the imperial forces commander yet?"


    Kyle asked as he wanted these men in his forces as they knew the imperial army''s tactics and plans with far more depth than Ash did as he was just considered a border guard.


    "Not yet but I think you have his attention. If I was in his position I would give it some time to see how you do plus he''s sent messages to the other imperial forces informing them of what''s happening and probably wants to see what they do as well."


    "You''re probably right Ash so we''ll just leave them alone for now but Faye keep an eye on them and any other unknown elements in the city."


    "Yes sir do you also want to know about the state of ''steel lotus''?"


    Faye asked but Kyle could see some excitement in her eyes so with a smile he indicated for her to continue.


    "Currently we have not expanded our forces as much but we have recruited some more members from the slums. Our largest increase was in our spy and information network thanks to my sister. Using our contact with the mercs we''ve used the falcons to make contact with some sympathetic brothels and smugglers in the other northern cities."


    Kyle was surprised at this as intelligence was essential in establishing his new empire. He was planning on creating a framework in New Grange and the surrounding cities using merchants and the like but whores and thieves could work even better as it had also helped in the recent battles.


    "Give your sister my thanks; this could be the beginning of a new branch separate from ''steel lotus'' and ''shadow hand'' which would deal solely with intelligence and spying."


    With that breakfast was over and daily training commenced again. Kyle was still training his Grandparents while Dylan and Susan were still being punished. Harris had begun training with Harris and Ash as Kyle didn''t want him to stagnate after he had his fun with him and being with others in his age range would help push him on.


    After training/torture was finished Kyle sought out Miranda''s father Liam as he was their resident hunter/scout team leader and Kyle had some plans he needed his help with.


    "Liam can I talk with you for a minute?"


    "No problem Kyle, what can I do for you?"


    Liam looked at Kyle with some curiosity as he knew Kyle was very smart and whatever he came up with would be interesting.


    "I would like to organise and expedition into the wild. Specifically towards the north and west looking for the lost cities closest to ours."


    Liam looked at Kyle intently when he said this as these cities had been completely overrun years ago and this was where the attack they had suffered had come from. When the outer cities were attacked New Grange City had reinforced them, but before their soldiers had even arrived the cities fell and the demon beasts had continued forward.


    These four forces had joined together and encountered the reinforcements 2 days out from New Grange. It was a massacre with only a few hundred managing to make it back and raising the alarm. This attack also led to the formation of the slum when the beasts had breached their defences.


    This was a dark day and led to the further downfall of New Grange City and now Kyle wanted to retake these lost cities. Liam thought about this for a moment, he didn''t think there would be problems finding the cities as they still had maps with their locations but they didn''t know what state the cities would be in by now and if they had become monster nests.


    Kyle seemed to understand Liam''s trepidation so decided to explain further.


    "Liam I want you to organise several teams of hunters who are willing to take the secret seal. We will train them for a while. When they are ready they only need to investigate the sites, if the beasts have moved on or there are few enough of them, they will reactivate the bastions present before retreating. I don''t want to risk anyone so we''ll try dealing with this remotely."


    Liam nodded to this as this was the safest course of action they could take. He already had some men in mind to head up these teams so he quickly to his leave to talk to them about this. Kyle carried on his way as he needed to speak to Darken at the array guild but before he left he looked at an irate Susan who was annoyed with Elena.


    "Why don''t you have an afro to?"

 160 Chapter 160 Lets do the time warp again

    "Why don''t you have an afro to?"


    ******


    2 Years Later


    ******


    "Jesus Susan that took a long time for that afro to grow out."


    Kyle noted while looking at Susan''s suddenly smooth and silky hair with a sympathetic look on his face. Susan glared back at him with apparent venom.


    "Humph yes it is very strange my hair took that long to grow out like that, it''s almost like someone was screwing with me eh Kyle."


    Kyle couldn''t stop a grin spreading over his face when he heard Susan complaining.


    "Yeah it''s almost like Alfred was asked mess with you as a punishment doesn''t it?"


    Alfred was the name the crystal spirit had taken for itself. As time passed the personality that inhabited the mana crystal became more distinct and eventually last year it had fully formed and decided to take the name of Alfred as it saw itself as Kyle''s assistant cum butler. When Kyle had spoken to it about its choice of name the response was.


    "It sounds like a proper butler''s name in my opinion sir."


    "So as my butler what will you do differently than previously?"


    Kyle asked as he wanted to know what duties Alfred had decided to take on.


    "I will buttle sir as I am your butler."


    "..."


    Kyle didn''t really have a response to that as it appeared Alfred had picked up a good dose of sass from somewhere along the line. According to Alfred he was connected to each of the networked bastions but his concentration was currently focused on New Grange City as that was the central hub.


    Once they move he will shift his personality to that location, the other bastions operate on an autonomous basis sending through reports to Alfred and flagging up issues that require his attention. Over time these autonomous systems are advancing eventually Alfred believes these will become permanently linked into him becoming remote versions of himself.


    Back to Susan she was still glaring at Kyle after what he had said.


    "So you had Alfred continue messing with me all this time. Elena did the same as me but she recovered in a couple of weeks why were you targeting me?"


    "Simple Elena is just young and curious so she gets a spanking you on the other hand are a through and through pervert. The punishment must fit the crime."


    "Did someone say spanking?"


    "Oh hi Elena we were just talking about you."


    "Yeah Kyle has been showing favouritism what do you think about that?"


    Susan began to question Elena who started playing with her bottom lip while she thought about what Susan had said before looking Susan straight in the eye and responded.


    "Yup I''m his favourite."


    Susan simply shook her head at this, even with the passing of years Elena hadn''t changed. Susan decided it was best to stop here and headed out to see Maria who was being run ragged with Kyle''s siblings.


    The adults had found themselves a good babysitter in Kyle as simply being in his presence was enough to calm the children down when they were crying or being difficult. Kyle assumed this was due to his soul strength but Elena didn''t have the same effect so it was a curiosity.


    New Grange City itself had changed greatly over the last two years with the most obvious visible change being the large academy in the centre of the city where the city lords'' mansion used to be. Taking only a few months to build this may sound fast but you should never underestimate cultivators when they are given direction.


    This academy taught all the children within the city the first level of Kyle''s technique without requiring them to take the secret seal. To receive the further levels of cultivation they would have to take the seal so many parents pushed them to take the seal for the better chances granted through strength.


    The adults also began taking the seals until it almost became a stigma not to have the seal. You should never underestimate the power of peer pressure. This meant New Grange City was effectively entirely under Kyle and his allies control with the other noble families falling into line following the Black and Tor families.


    With the construction of the academy and the various orphanages opened around the city the street children were now being looked after and with the seals were being indoctrinated into Kyle''s forces. Another change was the disillusion of the family''s personal forces.


    It took Kyle a while to work out why the empire would only have garrisoned forces but allow the various noble houses to have what amounted to small armies at their beck and call. After talking with Bob and Winona with Susan chipping in now and then he worked out it was probably because they were worried about arming potential enemies at their own cost.


    With the noble houses all paying to maintain their armies while eyeing each other they wouldn''t have a chance to build a force to oppose the imperial family. If any group gained to large an advantage the imperial overseer would inform their superior and the imperial garrison would come in and slap them back down.


    This was effective in maintaining a certain level of authority but it weakened humanity overall. Kyle absorbed the family forces into his own and with the seal they wouldn''t betray him. The forces were trained and divided amongst his allies strengthening them to the point they were able to seize total control of the nearest cities.


    Liam had also successfully found and reactivated the lost cities further north. This allowed Kyle to dispatch certain families to take control of these recovered territories. The reclamation was still ongoing as they had become overgrown in the intervening years but it appeared the beasts had no interest in the cities once they had been destroyed and moved on leaving only a small number behind.


    Another change in New Grange City was the installation of a city wide mana attraction array. Kyle hadn''t installed this before to prevent his enemies receiving the fruits of his labour and because if the beasts sensed this accumulation of mana it was entirely possible they would attack.


    With the defences in place they should be able to face almost anything but Kyle didn''t want to take the chance, but with the assistance of his falcon Rih he was able to test a means of blocking the mana leaks.


    This array was based at the academy with extension pylons at each of the bastions. This made New Grange City a haven for those who wanted to train and cultivate. If you took one of the falcons and flew away from the city you could see what looked like a multi coloured heat haze over the city and all of Kyle''s girls enjoyed it when he took them for an evening picnic overlooking their city.


    On another note Alena who was Bruno''s now fianc¨¦e had been developing various chemicals and potions looking for things that would assist their forces. Six months ago she had succeeded in producing a potion which when ingested would help in loosening the blockages in people''s nodes. This wash allowed people to train at the higher levels faster without Kyle overseeing them freeing him up to proceed with his own training.


    Kyle himself had progressed to the ninth level and planned to breakthrough soon as he was desperately curious as to what the next stage would entail. Even at his current level he couldn''t even get a glimmer as to what the next stage would be. His conjecture still stood that as this was a radical shift until he went through it he wouldn''t be able to visualise it.


    Kyle''s training was still largely the same with him training in the elemental magic''s fire, wind, water, earth, lightning, light, dark and life. Recently he had upped his training in the esoteric branch of magic???s. So far he has discovered Space, null, void and additive magic. Space is related to dimensionality but didn''t include time which was different than he expected. There did seem to be some elements which may relate to time but Kyle suspected that time was its own form of magic which while closely related to space was its own entity.


    Kyle thought back to when he explained to Susan about space magic.


    "Well using space magic we can increase a space within certain boundaries like a certain Doctor."


    "Which doctor?"


    "Who."


    "Yes who?"


    "Yes."


    "What?"


    "What?"


    "Are you doing some kind of voodoo?"


    "Yes we both do."


    "What."


    "Yes voodoo."


    "Please make it stop!"

 161 Chapter 161 A bandits life for me

    "Please make it stop!"


    Kyle looked at Harris who was holding his head with his hair sticking out in strange directions as if he had just finished pulling it in frustration.


    "Um Susan did we just break Uncle Harris?"


    "What we, you did it."


    "What!! This was obviously your fault."


    *****


    Ah memories since then Kyle had continued experimenting with space magic but couldn''t make much progress so it looked as though his wish for a spacial ring or bracelet was on hold until he found some way to improve on his space magic.


    Kyle left Elena and Susan to their bickering and went to check around his bastion. He always did the rounds checking on his people before doing whatever was on his schedule for the day. As he left his room he encountered Zak who was waiting for him with an organiser in his hand ready to direct Kyle''s day like some kind of general.


    "Good morning Kyle."


    Zak greeted him with a smile; Kyle looked up and down the hall before greeting Zak.


    "Morning Zak is there no Miranda or Clara this morning?"


    Kyle was usually first met by either Clara or Miranda before Zak gave him a rundown of his daily itinerary. With so much on his plate Kyle needed someone to help organise his day, he never forgot an appointment but he may not allow himself enough time during the day, making him run ragged so Zak had appointed himself as Kyle''s PA with some of his own trainees looking after the business side.


    "Um no they are already in the training area, they need to release some stress so went there early."


    Kyle creased his brow when he heard this had someone been bullying the girls or had something he wasn''t aware of happened.


    "What stress Zak? Are they okay no one has done anything to them?"


    Zak looked at Kyle like he was an idiot before choosing his words carefully.


    "Well they are already at the age of marriage and a lot of their friends are already wed and some even have children. We know you plan to marry them at sixteen but you could at least....help them with some stress relief."


    Kyle paused at this with some confusion on his face.


    "Surely they''ve experimented on their own you know tickle the bean, slick the flick."


    This time Zak paused before turning red.


    "I really couldn''t comment on that but you should speak to your ladies before they hurt someone. We have time before anyone needs to see you; your first meeting is with a group of bandits who have requested a meeting as they have information for you.


    Kyle raised an eyebrow at this as a meeting with bandits was strange even in Kyle''s new empire.


    "Bandits really? What do we know of this group?"


    "They are a small outfit; just four friends how''ve undergone the seal up to the third level. They are currently working under seven of the ''shadow hand'' and he has sent them to report directly."


    "Okay I''ll do the round, train and then I''ll meet with them."


    "Very well sir I will send them to the meeting room at 11."


    With that Zak hurried away while Kyle made his way to the training grounds to check on Miranda and Clara, it seemed as though Elena wasn''t suffering like they were but then again nothing really bothered Elena.


    Reaching the training grounds Kyle was met with a view of desolation. Men and women were groaning on the ground while the sounds of combat still sounded from the sparing platform. There were quite a few people watching, some had looks of fear while others had looks of amusement.


    Kyle noticed Ash and Dylan were stood to the side and were amongst those with amused expressions on their faces. Kyle approached them to find out the situation.


    "Hi guys what''s occurring?"


    Ash turned his head while Dylan didn''t even turn his head but Kyle was sure he was grinning. He couldn''t see it but just had that feeling.


    "Nothing much just watching your ladies let out their feelings."


    Ash turned back to the platform just in time to watch one of the new members of his ''death watch'' slam into the barrier surrounding the platform. This guy must be around 6 foot 3 inches and was layered in muscle.


    The fact he hit the barrier at speed was impressive but when you saw who threw him it was downright weird. Miranda standing at an impressive 5 foot 5 inches just recovered her stance from what appeared to have been an over the shoulder throw while Clara who was stood behind Miranda and slightly to the left just landed after kicking a similar sized man into the other side of the barrier.


    "Well looks like the girls are having fun at least."


    Commented Kyle with a completely straight face. The people who heard him turned towards him with some strange expressions. Miranda and Clara looked around them and found no one was left standing so Ash declared the match.


    "Winners Miranda and Clara, any other challengers?"


    No one came up at this point as the injured were dragged away to the infirmary to be checked and awoken. Injuries during their intense training were common place but usually the beatings weren''t as brutal as this.


    "Hi girls how are you? Did you have to beat our newbie''s so badly?"


    Miranda and Clara quickly looked towards Kyle when they heard his voice before looking rather embarrassed. When everyone saw this they couldn''t help but compare these shy girls to the demons who came to the early morning training and declared they would fight whom so ever came up.


    When the new members of the death watch heard these pretty girls challenge like that they of course took up the challenge just as a matter of pride only to be pimp slapped by some little girls.


    "Sorry Kyle."


    "Sorry master, I''ll hold back next time."


    Clara and Miranda showed some contrition at their actions so Kyle decided to let the beatings slip but seeing them fighting ignited his desire to spar and who better than his own girls.


    "If you want to spar how about against me?"


    When they heard this both Miranda and Clara''s eyes brightened as they moved back to their starting positions while Kyle entered. As Kyle stretched and got ready one of the remaining new members of ''death watch'' approached Ash.


    "Excuse me sir, is it okay for the young master to engage fighters like this?"


    Ash looked at this boy for a second and realised this was his first training session within a bastion and definitely the first time he had seen Kyle fight.


    "Don''t worry Kyle could fight twice their number without breaking a sweat, just watch closely and you may learn something."


    Once Kyle was warmed up he moved to his starting position and adopted a side on stance with his right shoulder leading. Clara and Miranda had spaced themselves out slightly so they could outflank Kyle.


    Seeing that the competitors were ready Ash began the match.


    "Contender ready 3,2,1 fight."


    Kyle was moving at the word fight and rushed Miranda with his shoulder roughly at her midsection. Miranda moved to the side only to encounter Kyle heel as he used his momentum to pivot in a round house kick.


    Miranda blocked using her forearm with her other arm supporting but it was still like getting hit by truck-sama making her slide across the ground for a good 2 meters and making her entire arm numb.


    While Kyle engaged Miranda, Clara rushed in from his blind spot but as Kyle kicked his head whipped around taking in his surroundings and locating Clara. She leapt in the air aiming an axe kick to the top of Kyle''s head.


    Kyle knew what was coming so after he had made contact with Miranda he used the rebound to spin away catching Clara''s descending heel swinging her in a large arc before releasing her so she flew and struck the barrier thus removing her from the fight in a single move.


    Miranda tried to engage again with her unhurt arm; Kyle simply caught her wrist and took control of her momentum flipping her so she crashed on to the ground flat. Because Kyle controlled the throw Miranda couldn''t roll away or disperse the impact meaning she was winded by the impact.


    Kyle stood over her in dominance with a grin on his face; Miranda was red and breathing fast but from more than just this little exertion. Clara was recovering as well; she also had a red face and was breathing hard.


    "Felling better dears?"


    Kyle asked seeing their state; it looked like they both had a certain disposition that could be interesting.


    "Yes Kyle thank you.


    "Yes thank you master."


    Hearing this and given the looks they were throwing his way Kyle couldn''t help but worry slightly, eh whatever happens happens. So for the rest of the morning Kyle "drilled" the girls and also trained some of the recruits who were now looking at Kyle like he was some kind of rock star.


    Finally Kyle was ready to meet his friendly neighbourhood bandits. Miranda and Clara followed him as they were curious about these men and at some point Elena had joined them. The girls were chatting with Clara and Miranda still being red faced so he could guess what they were talking about.


    Entering the meeting room Kyle saw the four men standing at attention to one side of the room while Zak was standing behind Kyle''s desk. The girls sat at some couches and carried on talking while Kyle sat at his desk.


    "Well come forward and tell me your names."


    The bandits approached and the one Kyle took to be their leader came forward.


    "Good day sir I''m the leader of our band and I''m known as crippled Carl."


    "Wait please explain the meaning behind your name?"


    Kyle stopped him as the man appeared fine and the name caught his attention.


    "Well simple before I started training my hand got busted hence crippled Carl."


    "Okay fair enough and you?"


    The next man stepped forward.


    "I''m known as herpes Hank."


    "Okay I think that one is self explanatory next."


    "I''m called Douglas the dog botherer."


    "Okay now I don''t know if I want to know the reason behind that one but let me know and I can always wipe my memory after."


    "Simple I like dogs so whenever I see one I go over and pet them."


    Kyle sighed in relief at this because if it was what he thought he may be scarred for life.


    "Okay last one please."


    "No worries boss they call me Gary the goat fiddler."

 162 Chapter 162 Space cowboy

    "No worries boss they call me Gary the goat fiddler."


    "Riiiight."


    Kyle didn''t know how to respond to that declaration so he simply looked at Gary who looked back at him.


    "Now I''m sure you want to know the reason behind my nickname?"


    Kyle panicked at this as his mind had already run through some dark places which he didn''t even know existed within his psyche and he didn''t want to go there again.


    "Yeah I''m going to have to go with no, let''s try and keep things PG-13 for the moment shall we."


    Gary had a confused look on his face at this.


    "What''s PG-13? Anyway it''s a really interesting story and it all starts when I was a lonely young boy with only the goats for company."


    "Nope, nope let''s get this back on track shall we. You guys were dispatched here to report about a developing situation correct."


    Kyle wanted to get this conversation back on track and avoid any mental damage to his girls if they heard of Gary''s exploits with animals of the farm yard variety. Crippled Carl stepped forward as this leader of this little band of degenerates to inform Kyle of what has transpired.


    "Sir one of the noble families in the hub city of Golden Plain has managed to seize total control. He did this by successfully enlisting the aid of the local imperial garrison and elements of the garrisons in the surrounding towns."


    "Well good for him but you wouldn''t be required to tell me this if that was all correct?"


    Carl shuffled uneasily at this, he knew Kyle was smart just based on what he had heard but this was the first time he had encountered him in person and there was a pressure Kyle exuded which made him fearful.


    "No sir according to their movements and the fact they are marshalling their forces outside of the city aiming north lord seven believes they are aiming for new Grange City. With this in mind he seized some of their lieutenants for questioning."


    Carl allowed Kyle to mull this over for a minute, Kyle thought of the possible reasons for this action and seeing Carl wanted to say more decided to stop his thoughts and hear the rest.


    "Please continue Carl."


    "Well sir the information that Lord Seven managed to "extract" from these captives showed they had a great understanding of the previous forces present in the city and their respective strength levels."


    "By previous I assume you mean before we took control and began the systematic strengthening of all forces within the city now under our banner correct?"


    This wasn''t really a question but Carl nodded none the less confirming that the information was largely out of date. This information was more detailed than it should have been for an outsider to glean which led Kyle to one suspect.


    "James?"


    The enemy city would need to be annexed and this was a good excuse to use force. The enemy personnel would be mostly made up of commoners drafted to make up the numbers with true cultivators being far fewer in number.


    Due to the training the personnel under Kyle had undertaken even if they were outnumbered three to one by cultivators of equal strength they would still come out on top. So the question would be what is the best way to defeat this enemy while keeping the numbers casualties to a minimum.


    Kyle knew the answer and it was simple assassination and illusions. By removing the leaders of this little insurrection they could seize an essentially leaderless city without much bloodshed. They would still deploy their standing forces away from the city to give them some training in logistics and deployment in a large scale.


    You may wonder why they simply didn''t just use the city defences and wait for the enemy to attack and the answer to that is twofold. Firstly most of Kyle''s forces were new and untested and this would be a good training exercise in a largely controllable environment. Secondly he didn''t want to just eradicate a large human population.


    Currently humans are on the sparse side and with his new means of helping with child bearing their numbers would gradually increase, this however would take a long time and with a sudden drop in the number of people in a nearby city there would be a greater drop in the birth rate.


    "Lotus I have orders for you to pass on."


    As Kyle spoke his shadow stretched and grew until a beautiful young woman stepped out from within. This was a little trick Kyle and Faye had created to help in the day to day, a member of ''Steel Lotus'' with a high enough attainment would study dark magic until they could utilize a new magic called shadow hide.


    This magic would allow them to hide within the shadow of their designated target. Kyle used this to have an assistant who could pass on orders quickly. This skill sounded powerful but there were several downsides to it.


    The first flaw was that when someone was in your shadow you could feel it. It wasn''t an uncomfortable feeling rather it was just awareness. Secondly when the cultivator was exiting the shadow they would be very open to attacks so it wasn''t suitable for battle.


    The member of ''steel lotus'' kneeled before Kyle and bowed her head; Kyle looked at this with a wry smile and shook his head.


    "I told you before you shouldn''t kneel like this."


    The young lady raised her head and looked directly at Kyle before she spoke.


    "Sir this may not be required but we all feel it is necessary to show our respect."


    ''Steel Lotus'' didn''t fall behind ''Shadow Hand'' in their loyalty to Kyle and the fact the bandits four didn''t bow down or something similar showed they were outliers who hadn''t been fully trained yet. Miranda, Clara and Elena didn''t really react to this but Kyle distinctly heard Miranda mutter.


    "Good she knows her place I''ll have to commend Faye."


    Kyle was mildly disturbed by this but chose to ignore the bad feeling in the pit of his stomach and instead focused on the ''Steel Lotus''.


    "I need you to pass messages to Faye and Ash. Tell them the current situation and tell them we are going for wolf pack tactics. This is a low kill order so I want the leaders removed with minimum collateral damage am I clear."


    The wolf pack tactics were simply to split the forces any way possible with the lowest casualties so they could break the chain of command. Doing it in this way they could also have their teams gain firsthand experience.


    "Yes sir I will pass on the messages, what about our main forces?"


    The main force was the bulk of ''Death watch'' and she was asking if they should be ready to go.


    "Have our main force prep and make it noisy, I want the enemy''s eyes to be fully on the main force."


    While the ''Steel Lotus'' and Kyle were talking Kyle''s girls were whispering amongst themselves. Once Kyle finished speaking Clara spoke on their behalf.


    "Kyle could we join the assassination teams. We are already as strong as the other girls and we want to get firsthand experience."


    Kyle looked over at the girls and saw their earnest faces but there was also something else there and he wondered if there was another reason for this request.


    "That should be fine but is there something you''re not telling me?"


    The girls looked at each other but strangely it was Elena who spoke first while the other two weren''t sure what to say.


    "We don''t want to be just dead weight or some kind of ornament trotted out on special occasions."


    Miranda and Clara looked at each other in shock before looking at Kyle to gauge his reaction. Kyle thought for a moment before walking over to the girls and crouching down in front of them.


    "Listen to me, you are not nor will you ever be dead weight. Why do you think you''ve gone through so much training? This will be a good opportunity for you to put your training to the test and get names for yourselves amongst the larger community. Lotus inform Faye the girls will be joining you."


    Lotus nodded before she disappeared and the girls followed shortly after. The four bandits who were still standing awkwardly watching this spoke to themselves.


    "So these are the brides of Kyle."


    "I know people think they represent some virtues but they''re cute."


    "So we''ve seen the representation of love, obedience and the ethereal."


    "Wasn''t there another what did she represent again oh yeah chaos."


    Kyle could hear this and turned towards them with a strange look on his face.


    "You know I can hear you but I only have three girls."


    Carl looked at his friends quickly before responding.


    "Sorry sir these are just stories we''ve heard, you are almost always seen with four girls and people have made assumptions."


    Kyle sighed a little dejectedly but at least the people like his girls but who is the fourth?


    "Can you describe the fourth bride to me? I need to straighten this out."


    Gary was the one who responded to this while scratching himself without a care for politeness.


    "Well as I heard it yur worship she''s about the same height as the others and cute as a button. They also say you don''t want to anger her or she''ll burn your hair off and the only one who can control her is you."


    Kyle was getting a bad feeling about this.


    "Did you happen to catch her name?"


    Douglas responded to this as he had recently picked up the name in the local pub.


    "Yes sir I believe her name was..."


    He didn''t get a chance to finish his sentence as a pressure wave pushed out through the bastion causing Alfred to activate the local null arrays to suppress this pressure. Kyle recognised this mana signature as Space magic.


    "SUSAN!!"


    Kyle rushed out leaving only a blur and a confused quartet, Kyle moved through the halls at his fastest speed. He was no more than a blur to those who saw him as he raced to one of the testing chambers where he felt the spatial fluctuations were the strongest.


    He smashed through the door and saw Susan trying to contain what looked to be some kind of portal or more likely a black hole. Susan could apparently hear Kyle and turned towards him with a look of panic on her face.


    Kyle rushed over and managed to grab her as the force of the portal spiked and they were pulled in. Kyle could had a terrible feeling of vertigo for a mere moment before he found himself standing on what appeared to be solid ground and looked around feeling more and more confused but at least he still had Susan in his embrace as he said.


    "Where the hell are we?"

 163 Chapter 163 I know that movie

    "Where the hell are we?"


    Looking around Kyle could see concrete walls and metal railings, so it appeared as though this was at least a semi modern structure so it was far removed from the life he had been living for the last few years.


    "Have we reached Dosney land?"


    Asked Susan looking around with wide eyes trying to take in everything around her as she had never seen a place like this before. From the slums to the mansions she had seen and even the new areas Kyle had unlocked, none of them bore any resemblance to what she was seeing now.


    Kyle was also observing their surroundings but with far less enthusiasm than Susan. It looked like she had managed to open a portal to another area but due to the difference he could feel in the mana he thought it was more likely they had travelled to a different plane.


    In their world the mana felt like a living and breathing force of nature. It was always active and moving. In this world however the mana in this world felt much thicker but also it felt stagnant, almost dead.


    Kyle tried to draw in some of this mana while maintaining his vigilance of the reasonable large room they had found themselves in. The racking around them with some random items placed on them made Kyle think they had landed in some kind of storeroom.


    Back to the mana, Kyle found it was easy to draw in this mana and when it reacted with the mana in his system it became purified and active again. It looks like in the short term he wouldn''t have to worry about mana.


    "Come on Susan we should at least know where we are and what''s in our surroundings."


    Kyle said while Susan became excited as this was something new that she would be among the first to see.


    "Great but where should we go."


    Kyle indicated to the far wall which had a steel reinforced door recessed within it. Even though the door was heavy and tough, they were already inside so the mechanism to lock and unlock it was on their side.


    "We''ll go through the door there. Calm down because we won''t be going far, the magic will snap us back soon and I don''t want us to far away from where we entered from, just in case this alters our path."


    Kyle explained to Susan while he felt the space magic around them gradually thickening. Kyle believed this was because of the way they entered this plane/universe. As there was no true doorway it easier to say they were only partially here and the magic would pull them back eventually.


    "So we can''t stay here and explore huh. Well maybe next time anyway let''s see what we can."


    With that Susan ran over to the door with Kyle close behind her. Yanking the handle down Susan flung the door open to be greeted by a sight she had definitely never thought she would see. In the centre of the room she had opened the door to, was a man strapped spread eagle on a steel table.


    The strangest thing about this whole setup was the beam of light coming from an apparatus above the man. This light was gradually moving up the table the man was strapped to leaving a scorch trail as it moved.


    "So Copperpit do you expect me to talk."


    "No Mr Bland I expect you to get cut in half."


    As they watched this scene Kyle had a sudden bad premonition which came to fruition seconds later.


    "Oh sorry to disturb your S \u0026 M play we''ll be going now."


    Kyle quickly wrapped a hand around Susan''s mouth.


    "Please excuse us."


    Copperpit and Bland we''re shocked by the sudden appearance of the pair before Copper shouted out.


    "Guards kill them!"


    From all around men in bad jump suits appeared and Kyle couldn''t help but wonder where they were previously. These guards moved with purpose and assumed a firing stance before pulling the triggers on their automatic weapons.


    The bullets approached but due to their cultivation and other buffs both Kyle and Susan could see them approach in what appeared to be slow motion. Even though this appeared to be slow it was still approaching at supersonic speeds so Kyle grabbed Susan and flung her back in the store room before retreating himself and kicking the door shut behind him.


    "Kyle are you okay?"


    Susan asked with some concern as she didn''t understand the weapons that were just used against them.


    "Yeah I''m fine I think. My back aches a little though."


    Kyle turned around so Susan could see his back and she could see several holes had appeared in the back of his shirt where the bullets had hit. These bullets however hadn''t penetrated his skin and had instead deformed on contact with the surface.


    "Hum looks like you''ll be fine but what were those?"


    "Guns I believe but we appear to be much stronger and tougher than the people in this world."


    Kyle responded to Susan but had to stop himself from saying to much as he had almost let slip some knowledge that he shouldn''t have access to. Before they could think of anymore banging could be heard on the doors as the guards began hitting it.


    "Why don''t they just get the keys?"


    Susan and Kyle said together as the pounding increased.


    "Kyle what should we do?"


    Kyle looked around then suddenly looked up. Above them was a large grate allowing access to the ventilation systems.


    "Hey when in doubt go for the vents."


    "Kyle why would they make vents big enough for a person to fit."


    "Don''t question it and let''s go."


    With that Kyle leapt up and grabbed the grate and then allowed gravity to do its part and dropped grate in hand. Tossing the grate away Kyle prepared to jump into the vent when he felt a shunt in the surrounding space and he and Susan were dragged back through the spatial portal.


    After another lsd trip through space and time Kyle landed superhero style while Susan was launched at speed into a wall. Shaking her head Susan looked at Kyle with an accusatory gaze.


    "Why did you land and I got flung into the wall."


    "I used my null and void magic''s to remove the velocity but as we weren''t touching I couldn''t pass this inertial dampening onto you."


    Kyle answered with a smirk as he looked at Susan. Susan gave a humph but then looked more closely at Kyle as she saw he was looking towards her with a little anger.


    "Susan we didn''t get a chance before but you are in true trouble this time. You ignored what I told you about not messing with space and the other esoteric magic''s until we fully understand them."


    "But why Kyle if we have more people experimenting we could find uses for it much more quickly."


    "Let me explain something, I suspect the reason the bastions and the cities of the ancient empires were destroyed was because of the use of the stretched space within the libraries. This was simply stretched space the energy that would be released from a portal to another plane or universe; well let''s say the energy released would be cataclysmic."


    Susan paled when she thought about it in this way as she never really considered this side of it.


    "I well I wanted to help; I guess I cocked it up again didn''t I?"


    "Yes if Alfred hadn''t locked down the area with the new arrays we worked out and I hadn''t reinforced the area around us with my own mana the destruction could have cost our friends and family their lives. Think about what you''re doing next time but for your punishment I think two months working in the first year of the academy should do."


    Dropping to her knees Susan let out a wail.


    "NNNNOOOOOO!!!"


    Kyle beautifully dodged Susan''s little tantrum and decided to find out if anything had happened as passing between universes may have some unexpected side effects or some other unknown results. Accessing one of the communication arrays Kyle contacted Alfred.


    "Alfred how long have we been....away?"


    Alfred responded immediately when Kyle contacted him.


    "Sir you have been away for two weeks, currently the young missus has joined ''Steel lotus'' in harassing the enemy force and your main force is currently marching to the border between your outer cities and where they are expected to arrive."


    "Thank you Alfred how have my family taken our disappearance?"


    "Well sir after I informed your parents about what happened your father just sighed and your mother simply said that your armour would protect you whatever that means. Also we have a messenger from the enemy force is currently waiting to meet with your parents, but they chose to wait ."


    "Okay I''ll speak with him, it''s better for one of us to deal with him as soon as possible, before our forces engage. Get my parents to meet me in the main hall, I don''t want this messenger to see too much of the bastion."


    "Very well sir."


    With that Kyle cut the connections and walked over to Susan who was still on her knees about having to be a teacher to young children.


    "Come on Susan we''ve got something to do which should make you feel happier."


    "Really what''s that?"


    Susan said while she bounced up back to her feet eager to do something once again.


    "We''re going to mess with a messenger."

 164 Chapter 164 Well that went as expected

    "Ohh can I get to keep an ear?"


    Susan asked with a malicious grin on her face, this caused Kyle to pause and look at her strangely.


    "We''re only going to screw with them not hurt them okay? Well as long as they are civil at least."


    "Oh well there is always next time. So what are we going to do anyway?"


    "Not sure yet we''ll play it by ear, no pun intended but I don''t want to initiate anything until I know why they''re here."


    Susan pondered this for a second before she nodded her head still with that creepy grin plastered over her face. They made their way through the bastion while Kyle pondered about his recent trip to another realm.


    It was obvious that due to the training in mana Kyle''s body was far stronger than an ordinary human as can be seen by the way he resisted the gunfire which struck him. He also thought about the fact that they managed to pass through the walls separating reality and found a world if not the same as his original one was at least very similar.


    With this in mind it may be possible to find his original world or at the very least to move around and hopefully find something that could help in his current world. As they made their way through the bastion various people greeted them until they bumped into Alena.


    "Hi Alena what''re you up to?"


    Kyle asked the woman who was very close to being considered his sister and he had already spoken to Bruno about this issue.


    ***


    Flashback


    ***


    "Bruno you know I love you as a brother? I''d be willing to die to keep you safe right?"


    "Yeah Kyle I know that. What''s brought this on you''re not dying are you?"


    "Nope just wanted to let you know that if break Alena''s heart I''m afraid I''ll have to break your knee caps."


    "Oh very funny Kyle you know that wouldn''t do any permanent damage anyway."


    Bruno grinned at Kyle when he said this but Kyle returned his look with an earnest gaze.


    "Bruno I''m saying this for your own good. I''ll simply break your legs to keep you safe, what do you think will happen if my girls caught wind of you upsetting Alena?"


    Bruno began to sweat at this and tried swallowing with a dry throat.


    "Good point thanks for the heads up, excuse me for a bit I find that I haven''t being paying enough attention to Alena recently."


    Without even waiting for a reply Bruno sprinted off to find his paramour. Kyle heard from his girls that Bruno had taken Alena out on a romantic date which was very out of character for him.


    ***


    Flashback ends


    ***


    "Good afternoon Kyle, I''m just getting our medical and alchemical supplies and our lines ready before I head to the camp to meet up with Bruno and his unit."


    "Well hopefully you can meet up shortly, but do you want to come with us. We are going to a meeting with a messenger from the enemy force."


    "Ah why not I''m only waiting for the remaining supplies to be catalogued and loaded before we head out and I could use a break."


    Susan was still grinning while thinking of various scenarios before she turned her attention to Alena.


    "Hi little Ally are you going to join in the fun?"


    Alena couldn''t help but have a bad premonition seeing Susan''s grin and hearing her words. She turned a questioning look to Kyle who merely shrugged before responding.


    "We''ll see what he says; he''s been cooling his heels because I''ve been...away so he may do something stupid."


    Alena could only sigh at this but decided to come along anyway since she was curious as to what would happen and if nothing else putting Kyle and Susan in this kind of situation always led to something amusing happening.


    As they walked on several people joined them as Alfred had contacted them to let them know Kyle was back and had called for the messenger so in short order Harris, Isaiah and Shauna had joined him.


    Landon and Maria were currently chasing his siblings and would meet them at the main hall, Bob had already left to the front lines with his force in tow and he would be able to stabilise the situation with his mere presence while Winona was currently working in the academy.


    Winona had decided to stay in the city in case of any unexpected situations but with their current defensive capabilities and the home guard in operation this was highly unlikely.


    They quickly left the bastion and grabbed some steeds so they could get to the main compound in short order. While they rode through Kyle watched as the people within the family moved with new found purpose.


    They rushed here and there either to train or to fulfil some other obligation. It was amazing how everyone was now pulling together for a common cause. This newfound patriotism was also found within the city with little to no dissension.


    This could be caused by the seals people were now placed under but as the hub of these seals Kyle could sense how much energy these seals were pulling and this amount was negligible, this meant that only a smattering of people resisted the direction they were given and even then it was only half heartedly.


    They quickly arrived at the compound and dismounted before heading into the main hall to see Landon and Maria were already present. Charles and Aria, Kyle''s siblings were also on their parent''s laps making Kyle raise an eyebrow.


    Landon saw this and coughed before speaking.


    "Sorry Kyle they wouldn''t settle so we brought them with us. Hopefully everyone will remember to watch their language."


    Landon looked around at those present who simply sighed at this useless father. Maria wasn''t even paying attention but was instead fussing over Aria who was now actively fighting to be free so she could see her elder brother.


    Charles wasn''t fighting but instead stretched out his little hands fully expecting Kyle to come over and pick him up. Kyle smiled at these little ones and immediately moved over and sat between his parents whom gave up and let their youngest begin to climb over to him.


    Once they reached him they immediately sat on each leg and rested their heads against him and fell asleep. Maria smiled at this while Landon simply huffed.


    "Kyle how do you do that?"


    Landon asked in exasperation while looking at his kids who loved him and he loved them but as soon as Kyle appeared they would abandon him and his wife for their brother.


    "Eh must be my animal magnetism I suppose."


    This wasn''t the first time they had this conversation but as usual Landon wasn''t satisfied with Kyle''s response. Landon could only pout while Maria began to stroke Kyle''s hair and fuss over him.


    "Kyle where have you been, Alfred said you were fine and we should carry on but you vanished with no warning."


    "Well Susan was screwing around with space and made a wormhole which pulled us into another reality where we saw some middle age men enjoying some special time and I got shot before we found a vent and got dragged back due to spacial distortion and Susan is now going to teach our youngest as punishment."


    Kyle said all this in one breath; Maria and Landon nodded at this before beginning to discuss what they should do for dinner while Harris was stood to the side with his eyes bugging out slightly at this explanation. The others in the room had expressions varying between these extremes.


    After a couple of minutes a guard entered the room and announced their guest.


    "Sire the messenger from the Peridot family of Golden Plains city is waiting to meet you."


    Kyle thought for a moment about this family name and found it was familiar but couldn''t place it so he decided not to bother with it and instead indicated the guard should bring the messenger in. The guard looked to Landon who also nodded.


    The man who came through the door looked a little overweight and on the wrong side of forty. He was unremarkable except for the arrogance with which he carried himself. As he walked in Kyle was just impressed that he didn''t trip over given how far up in the air his nose appeared to stick.


    "I don''t appreciate having to wait so long for this meeting don''t you realise who I am."


    Oh there goes clich¨¦ click number one thought Kyle who caught Susan''s eye. She was grinning like a Cheshire cat by now and turned her attention back to the messenger man. Isaiah moved imperceptibly and it was unknown what he was planning.


    "Now you scum have one chance and only one to surrender immediately as vassals of my Peridot family."


    Well that was clich¨¦ click number two; more people began moving to cover the exits. Shauna also whispered something, apparently to the open air but there was a mild distortion which meant that a member of ''steel lotus'' had moved very quickly.


    "Now when you submit you will be expected to give tithes to us and what we currently demand is women."


    This piece of dirt then looked around the women in the room and licked his lips with desire making them all uncomfortable. Now this was clich¨¦ click three meaning he had struck out and now Kyle could do what he wanted but before he could proceed the doors to the hall opened to another member of ''steel lotus'', behind her they could see this idiots guards passed out and being dragged away by the guards.


    This made the man pale as these were elites in their force and they had been taken out with no sound or indication. The member of ''steel lotus'' rushed forward and knelt before Kyle before reporting.


    "My lord sorry to rush in like this but I''ve just arrived with news from the front, Mistress Miranda has been captured by the enemy!"


    Kyle paused at this and his mind ground to a halt before rushing through with various thoughts and fears before he pulled himself back under control and asked with an emotionless voice.


    "How was she captured? Wasn''t she with the others in a team?"


    "Yes sir but the enemy somehow got their location and targeted your women specifically. Ladies Clara and Elena were closer to the group but Miranda was further out and they managed to separate her from the others using numbers and captured her before the rest of the team could breakthrough."


    Kyle listened to this with a dispassionate face but inside he was boiling his anger was causing his mana to circulate faster and faster clearing nodes one after another. This was similar to his first time cultivating with the difference being he now knew what he was doing and using his emotions to fuel his progress meant he was getting stronger second by second.


    "Haha see this is the result of going against my family, now surrender or your woman will be used until she is broken like the whore that she is."


    The messenger didn''t even realise the danger he was in right now and just had to go and poke the sleeping bear.


    "Oh really I should warn you not to make me angry you wouldn''t like me when I''m angry."


    Kyle state simply while looking at the messenger who swallowed nervously. While Kyle was speaking his eyes began to glow slightly giving him a scary appearance.


    "What are you going to do?"


    The messenger questioned while stepping slightly back in apprehension. Kyle paused for a second before looking to the window to his right and responded.


    "You see that little window up the top there; I want to see if you can fit through that at speed."


    "What?"


    But before he could ask more than that Kyle had caught him by the front of his uselessly flowey robes and launched him towards the little opening section at the top of the arched windows. Isaiah being the gifted butler he was had already prepared, using a hook on the end of a long pole pulled the window open before the messenger hit allowing him to pass through the little gap with millimetres to spare.


    Susan looked out of the window and when the messenger hit the ground and tumbled head over heels gave her opinion.


    "Wow you got some good distance on that one; it looks like a new record."


    This made some of those present smile but not Kyle. Kyle was still seething that people would target those close to him like this so his anger and power continued to grow and strengthen. Those who had received his seal could feel his anger and rage which made them shiver and only thank the gods that they weren''t the ones to piss off this beast.


    ***


    POV Shift


    ***


    In a military camp far away from New Grange city an old and dignified general was sitting apparently waiting for something. Eventually some guards brought in a black clothed figure with their head exposed.


    This figure was Miranda and she was looking around her without fear but there was a little crazy to be seen in her eyes. She had a solid steel pole running down her back with her arms and legs pulled tight with chains attached to this pole.


    The general''s eyes widened at this but didn''t comment and instead looked at the young girl. She was pretty unbelievably so and he immediately took a fancy to her and decided to have some fun.


    Miranda turned her eyes to this lustful man and tapped into her inner yandere.


    "Oh lookey who we have here. Well I think I should warn you before you go any further, only one man can touch me and anything else that get''s near me will end up getting lost."


    Miranda''s eyes showed true crazy at this point and the general unconsciously crossed his legs but before he could respond he saw Miranda shiver with excitement.


    "Oh dear oh dear someone has done something they shouldn''t haven''t they?"


    Miranda had a crazy grin to match her eyes as she felt Kyle''s anger and power through the seal which made her rather excited.


    "What do you mean?"


    The general asked now fully nonplussed by the whole situation. Here he thought that he could get a little slap and tickle with this little girl but who knew she was nuts. Miranda looked at him again with slightly hazy eyes before responding.


    "Well you''re f*cked now."

 165 Chapter 165 Every hero needs a hulk ou

    The general saw the crazy in front of him begin wiggling around in excitement while making strange noises and thought of a story his father told him when he was young, it was one of those stories people told children to teach them life lessons.


    "..and that was how the hero lost everything, his power, money and position after leading a good and true life while supporting the poor and infirm."


    "So dad what is the point of the story isn''t the hero supposed to ride off into the sunset and live happily ever after?"


    Asked the young general while his father looked at him with a strange look.


    "My son greater and stronger men than us have been brought low by a single mistake. Not all stories have a happy ending after all and the moral of this story is don''t stick it in crazy!!"


    Switching out from the old generals memory he could be seen nodding to himself as he finally found himself agreeing with his father.


    "Guards!! Take this young lady away and tell all the men she is to be unsullied, you hear me no one is to touch her!"


    The guards who rushed in at the generals shout looked at the girl then at the general with questions in their eyes. They knew the general was partial to girls like this although he generally only partook in those who were paid for their service rather than force someone. They didn''t know this was also some advice from his dad as he said if you force yourself on someone you don''t know who would turn up after the fact for revenge.


    The general saw the looks on the faces of his men before turning his attention to the girl who was now panting on the ground in a show of obvious excitement. Returning to the men''s gaze he simply stated.


    "Don''t forget the fable of Donny Jepp."


    A look of dawning comprehension appeared on their faces before looking at the girl with trepidation before collecting her while maintaining as much distance as possible. The general decided to prevent his men from playing with the girl as well because he didn''t want to mess with however tamed this beast. This single act would become the one saving grace for the general and his men.


    ***


    Return to Kyle


    ***


    Kyle was still feeling his mana spiking and was directing it to the nodes he still hadn''t yet cleared causing him reach the final step of level nine of stage one. The mana in the surroundings was continuously giving him enough energy to complete his growth.


    Alfred began using some of the mana accumulating arrays in the nearby area saturating the estate in highly condensed mana. Those who weren''t fully aware of what was happening could sense the increased mana density and so began training straight away.


    This excess power flooded through his system and overflowed into those things that were connected to him. These were of course the arrays and seals he had created directly or indirectly (using the seal stones).


    The most obvious of these connections were to Alfred and to Rih. Alfred gained greater connection to the associated cities through the relay system that gave him details of what was happening. He was now able to influence the arrays without directing his attention at them. This was similar to a reflex action rather than an unconscious action like it was previously.


    This was a subtle distinction but now he was aware of any change were previously he would only become aware of what had happened when he checked or an alarm was raised. Rih change however was even more obvious.


    He was already the largest of the falcons due to being nourished by Kyle''s soul force which allowed him to control more mana improving and evolving him faster than his kin. With the sudden burst of soul power Rih was able to evolve even further than previously.


    The caretakers were shocked as Rih suddenly lay down in apparent pain before a shifting barrier of energy surrounded him. Within the barrier Rih was changing, his wings shifted further to his back while his legs shift in to a form where the ankles looked to be in a similar location to the knees and new legs and talons began growing from the side of his chest.


    His from now resembled in form a griffin or some mythical beast similar to this but he was still obviously a falcon due to his looks. In this form he was now better suited for battle and with his size now completely eclipsing what it was previously he was a force to be feared by any sane person.


    To give some perspective Rih''s wingspan was now approximately sixty feet from tip to tip and his body was around twelve feet in length. He was now gigantic in size and his strength was proportional to his size.


    With this increase in strength his mana core also grew and was now three times larger than before allowing him to cast the instinctive magic''s of his species with impunity.


    Back with Kyle he had finally cleared the last of his nodes and was now gearing up to breakthrough. He was now surrounded by increasingly strong winds and lightning and fire were visibly striking the wind flow. This was a breakthrough the likes of which no one had seen before as this was the first of the new generation to break into the second stage.


    Susan was watching this and finally said what was on her mind.


    "Show off!"


    Maria heard Susan say this and quietly crept up behind her while she was still concentrating on Kyle and before Susan could react grabbed her underwear and pulled up hard. Yes that''s right Susan the goddess of chaos was finally defeated by a wedgie.


    "Eeep."


    Was all Susan could get out before the crowd was stilled again by a sound which caused most to cover their ears.


    "Squaw..Cough ROOOOAARR!"


    Rih had come out of his change and decided to announce his presence. People from around New Grange City looked towards the estate and saw a massive form leaving what had become the aviary. This form was quickly joined by several smaller forms and they began what could only be called an aerial ballet.


    Those who had the seal knew something was happening and that all this was due to the Powell family so the simply chose to stop for a bit and watch the spectacle. There were cheers and clapping while the people watched unknowingly becoming stronger due to Kyle''s soul power quietly improving them.


    Back with Kyle he was observing and directing his mana. Even though he was using his anger and rage to grow more powerful he didn''t forget this was the first time someone using his cultivation method broke through to the second stage. As such he needed to analyse the change and prepare for when his people reached this stage.


    Kyle was within his spirit realm and was observing what was happening. His main channel was flowing to the end of the line or the final gate depending on your perspective while his nodes and sub-nodes were pulling in mana from outside and were adding it to the main channel changing it from a river to a tsunami rushing through his soul realm.


    When the wave struck the final gate there was no suspense, no charging up for a second run. No as soon as this wave of mana hit the final gate didn''t burst open or break it simply ceased to be. The mass of mana flowed through freely and Kyle could feel his view changing like he was being pulled away.


    Gradually as his view retreated he gained a larger and larger overview of his mana system until finally he could see the whole thing and to his surprise it didn''t look dissimilar to those pictures you sometime see of the veins and nerves in a human body.


    The network of his mana system, while complex was nowhere near as complex and convoluted as the blood network in a human not even mentioning the nervous system. Kyle put this down to the mana system seeming to be created using mana while the other parts in a human body were created through evolution or more accurately trial and error.


    Looking for the change that would occur from stage one to stage two Kyle saw his mana pooling in the centre of his chest but as usual he was aware this wasn''t real or in the physical realm or he would already be struggling to breathe. This was purely metaphysical, as such Kyle watched how the mana reacted and saw it seemed to be denser than the mana in his channels and nodes but that was all.


    Kyle began thinking of way to improve on this like he did with his cultivation technique and so decided to begin with the most obvious way of improvement and that was to increase the density of the mana so he began to exert his soul force and the mana pooling within him.


    Gradually the mana began to condense until there was no more freely flowing within that space but Kyle continued to push and finally he was rewarded when his mana solidified into a crystal. This crystal appeared tiny but while Kyle watched more mana flowed in from the channel and added to the crystal.


    As this new mana flowed in and struck the crystal rather than pooling it instead added to the crystal. Kyle sensed what he could do with this new addition and found that the crystal was releasing a constant flow of mana adding to his system while it was drawing from the channel at the same time increasing the amount it released.


    Currently the crystal was drawing more mana than it was adding but checking this at the smallest way possible Kyle could see the crystal was gradually increasing the amount it pumped out while what it drew in was constant.


    This was good as it meant he would be constantly cultivating even when he wasn''t actively doing so, but Kyle had another idea to increase the flow of mana and so he focused on the crystal and began to manipulate the man within. Making it move in a circular motion faster and faster the mana formed a whirlpool increasing the flow of mana to the crystal.


    This also had the effect of increasing the flow of mana in his main channel drawing more mana in with each breath. This also had an unexpected effect as the mana within his whole system of nodes and sub-nodes began moving as well. He wasn''t drawing from this source rather this mana seemed agitated would seem to be the correct term.


    This would take some investigation to see what difference this would make but for now Kyle had somewhere to be. So once he stabilised at his new level Kyle returned to the real world and looked around.


    Everyone was watching him with shocked expressions except Susan who was rubbing her ass. While looking at Maria with a grumpy expression.


    "Well looks like I broke through so I need to go and pick up my girl."


    Kyle said with a smile while those watching could see a light in his eyes that wasn''t there before.


    "Welp he gonna kick somebody ass."

 166 Chapter 166 Terrible on the knees

    Kyle looked towards the source of the voice and saw Dylan standing there looking a little apprehensive.


    "Yes Dylan you are correct. You''re in charge of the local defences, everyone else who''s interested grab a falcon and head to the forward base while I go collect Miranda and dish out some justice."


    Kyle''s parents and uncle smiled at this as usually leaders would be expected to stay back and would only appear in the direst of circumstances but here they were going to rush in like a bunch of Dylan''s.


    Susan was looking between Kyle and his parents before she spoke up.


    "I''ll stick with you Kyle; I want to see how strong you are with your breakthrough. Plus Miranda would never forgive me if I let you outta my sight."


    Kyle simply smiled and began walking out of the hall followed by Susan before he thought of something and turned back to Dylan.


    "Have the messenger imprisoned I want to have a word when I get back."


    "No problem boss and have fun."


    Kyle led Susan and the rest out to the lawn in front of the grand hall and looked up to see Rih and his brethren were still playing in the air.


    "Ooh."


    "Aah."


    Everyone reacted like they were watching a fireworks show seeing these beasts flying together with such skill. Kyle however didn''t bother with the mood and cupped his hands around his mouth.


    "Oi stop screwing around and get down here you big turkey."


    Rih made a 180 degree turn and made a nose dive towards the ground making everyone except Kyle step back; suddenly Rih spread his wings shedding his speed before softly landing right in front of Kyle.


    Kyle looked at Rih inspecting his changes and was curious as to how strong and fast Rih was in comparison to previously. Now having four legs and his wings up towards his shoulders Rih''s combat strength would obviously be increased just from a physical standpoint.


    It had yet to be seen how much his magic would be affected by this change but Kyle suspected it was not a small increase and would instead be a qualitative change. The feeling around Rih had also changed, it was more primal and ferocious now but in front of Kyle it was subdued as he saw Kyle as his one true master.


    Those who would accompany Kyle to the front line also called down their falcons and found they had grown larger and stronger as well, just not as powerful as Rih.


    "Kyle why have our falcons got bigger?"


    Harris asked while stroking the beak of his own falcon that seemed to be enjoying the attention.


    "Best guess is they took in some of my mana during my breakthrough, but due to them being joined with you through the blood bond they only took in a small amount. Once you guys start breaking through we''ll know for certain."


    "Alright everyone mount up, you''re heading for the forward camp. Just fly that way for a few hours and you''ll spot them. I''ve got to go pick up my date."


    With that Kyle jumped on Rih''s back and pulled Susan up before taking wing and heading out.


    "Um does anyone know how Kyle knew where the army is?"


    Landon asked with a confused look on his face only for Harris to come over and put his hand on his shoulder before saying.


    "With everything that has been happening recently that is the thing you''re worrying about."


    With that everyone just shook their heads before mounting up and heading in the direction Kyle indicated.


    Back with Kyle and Susan, they were enjoying flying up high amongst the clouds although occasionally another flying beast would approach. Luckily one look from Rih was enough to make them scatter before they got to close.


    "So Kyle how are you going to rescue Miranda all on your lonesome?"


    Susan asked in a teasing voice, Kyle didn''t even deem it necessary to face her and spoke out his plan while still looking forward.


    "First I''m going to make a flashy entrance secondly beat the living snot out of anyone who gets in my way third free Miranda and finally I plan to wing it for the rest of it."


    Susan thought about this plan for a minute before giving her verdict.


    "I like it simple and to the point without any excess fat, but what will I do while you''re having fun?"


    This made Kyle turn around and look Susan square in the eye before he responded.


    "You can watch me being awesome."


    With that Kyle turned forward again leaving Susan with a bemused expression on her face. Only Kyle could bring this expression out of her and he always enjoyed it when she looked like someone had smacked her in the face with a fish.


    They flew on in silence for an hour and a half before Kyle made Rih begin circling an area within a large forested area. Within this small area Susan could see a clearing with several tents and fires located around them.


    This was obviously the enemy''s base. She looked over to Kyle who was observing the area with a great deal of concentration.


    "So we''re here so what are you planning on doing."


    "Super hero landing."


    With that Kyle jumped off of Rih''s back much to Susan''s shock who immediately followed his descent with her eyes.


    In the camp life continued much as it has done with the small addition of the young girl trussed up like a prize chicken. Camp life was largely boring but guard and other duties must be done. As the soldiers continued with their daily lives the quiet was broken by a sound from above.


    "INCOMING BITCHES!"


    This shout drew the eyes of everyone. They were all surprised to see a figure falling from the heavens cloaked in what appeared to be fire and lightning. Those with better eyes may have seen the strange figure further up in the air with a small lady on its back.


    Hearing the shout a small Sergeant came out of his tent with a big smile on his face while looking around before he spoke with what suspiciously sounded like an Irish accent.


    "Where the bitches be then boys."


    Before the guards or anyone else could respond Kyle hit the ground. When he struck the ground the energy surrounding him blasted outwards. The Irish sergeant was one of the first to be struck by this energy and was blasted away at speed.


    The general in charge had just grabbed a padded armour shirt and exited his tent just in time to see a small guy flying almost horizontally past his tent flap and he could swear he heard him say something along the lines of.


    "Eh I was leaving anyways."


    Seeing this the general only shook his head and looked towards the source of the chaos and saw a young man standing up from a crouch while being surrounded by a few downed men while the rest were running around in a panic.


    "Run away."


    "Fight don??t retreat."


    "Let''s get the bloody hell out of here."


    "Did I leave the oven on?"


    "Right ya bastards let''s be havin ya."


    This scene of trained soldiers in a panic from the arrival of a single person left the general with only the option of face palming before he slowly approached Kyle.


    "Greetings young man, I assume you are here for a reason but if I may ask just to cure my curiosity how did you get through the protection field without anyone noticing?"


    Kyle looked at this general and was impressed with how the man just accepted what he saw and instead engaged Kyle in conversation.


    "You don''t shield from the air."


    Kyle responded simply, this wasn''t fully accurate as they do have alerts setup for attacks from above but with the speed Kyle came down they didn''t get a chance to respond.


    "Okay I guess now how may I help you young man?"


    "You have someone close to me and I''ve come to retrieve her."


    When the general heard this he understood what was going on and felt the best chance for his men to survive this was to simply agree to Kyle''s demands.


    "Yes we''ll just retrieve her for you but can you promise not to hurt my men."


    Kyle raised a brow at the general.


    "Why have you accepted so quickly, surely you should be attacking me or something?"


    "I''m not stupid, seeing the damage you''ve already done we wouldn''t stand a chance."


    Kyle on hearing this smiled devilishly.


    "Good choice, okay as long as she isn''t hurt in any way you''ll all survive."


    With that the general shouted some orders and a few soldiers ran away to retrieve her, these soldiers quickly returned with Miranda tied to a stick being carried between two of them like a pig ready to be roasted.


    Kyle looked at the general with a strange look and the general felt like he needed to explain.


    "Don''t look at me like that, no one has touched her but she is dangerous."


    Kyle nodded before going to Miranda and released her from the bindings and she quickly grabbed Kyle and kissed him.


    While they were making out under the slightly uncomfortable gazes of the soldiers there was a terrifying sound heard.


    "Awoooo."


    "Well that''s a big puppy."

 167 Chapter 167 So fluffy!!

    Kyle stated while looking towards the source of the howl. Coming out from the trees was a large pack of demon wolves. These wolves were much larger than wolves in our world averaging around 15 feet long and being around 7 feet to the shoulder.


    From within the pack one stood above the rest, Kyle assumed this was the alpha being closer to 10 feet at the shoulder and 20 feet long. Unlike common descendants of the canis family these wolves had much thicker and stronger legs looking similar to a saber tooth tiger in the way their legs were laid out.


    The fur of most of these was a mix of light and dark grey with the occasional brown hair appearing. The exception to this was the alpha which had a mix of dark grey to black colouration with a shimmer to its coat like what you see when light hit''s oil.


    These wolves were getting closer as they must have sensed Kyle''s burst of mana and were attracted to it only to encounter what must look like an all you can eat buffet just waiting for them. Finally the last of the wolves had exited the tree line and this pack numbered around 60 individuals with some pups also mixing with the others.


    It was hard to get an exact count as they didn''t stay still and were constantly moving around each other. The enemy general looked at these beasts and could only think to himself.


    ''Geez what a day, I really need a drink.''


    He was brought out of his musings when he heard the kid near him voice his thoughts.


    "Whoa now that is cool, hey captain do you know what their species is called."


    The enemy general could only sigh at this as he thought about the direction his life is taking and just wished he had taken up another career maybe snake charming or tiger baiting just to be a bit safer and saner.


    "They''re just called demon wolves some are just bigger than others. My name is Maurice by the way."


    Kyle looked at Maurice over his shoulder before looking back at the wolves that were looking as though they were getting ready to attack.


    "Well that name sucks there space cowboy we''ll have to come up with something better but for now I want a puppy. Hey Miranda, Susan do you think my parents will let me keep em?"


    "Master I don''t think your parents will stop you from doing anything you want."


    Miranda responded while Susan was looking at the wolves with stars in her eyes obviously enamoured with them.


    "No there won''t be a problem, look at how pretty they are."


    As they spoke the wolves seeming to have heard them became enraged and suddenly launched towards them in rage. The small sergeant who was last seen travelling horizontally thanks to Kyle''s landing had just recovered only to see a wave of fangs and claws heading towards the camp simply lay back down and pretended to already be down.


    Thinking that was close enough Kyle projected out his soul force towards the wolves as a suppression wave. This caused the weaker members to halt their charge and lay down in fear just leaving the alpha standing on wobbly legs.


    Kyle was impressed by the alpha; Kyle approached it slowly before extending his hand and began to stroke its muzzle.


    ******


    5 minutes later


    ******


    Maurice had seen many things in his days from the fall of cities to armies fighting hordes but this had to be one of the strangest days he has ever had. He was currently watching Kyle who was spending some quality time with his new pet


    "Who''s a good boy hey; you''re a good boy yes you are."


    Kyle was currently rubbing the alpha''s chest as it was lying on its back with its paws in the air. Kyle had already placed a blood seal upon the pack so they were now lying around him while he played with the alpha and Miranda and Susan were playing with some of the others.


    "Oh their fur is so nice to stroke."


    Miranda said as she stroked one of the others which she had taken a liking to.


    "It''s so FLUFFY."


    Susan joined in while she was enjoying herself.


    After having their fill of fluff Kyle decided it was time to deal with the military guys who were currently milling around unsure of what they should be doing.


    "Okay we are going to be rejoining our force with our new cavalry. You gentlemen are going to receive a slave seal as prisoners of war; you will ride our cavalry to our line before surrendering to our men. Do you have any questions?"


    Maurice stepped forward to speak for his men.


    "We agree but how will you apply the seals?"


    "Like this."


    Kyle said this with a smirk as he used his soul force to etch the slave seals on the men without even moving. This shocked them all as this went against everything they knew of seals and the art arraymanship.


    Maurice on feeling the seal was placed on him tried to resist but it was like trying to resist a flood with a tissue and before he could do more than register what was happening the seal was in place.


    "All sorted now pack up, load a wolf and get moving. Susan can you ride Rih back and keep an eye out. I''ll ride with Miranda on the alpha to our lines."


    Kyle issued his orders before asking Susan for a favour. Susan looked between Kyle and Miranda before responding with a grin.


    "Okay you two lovebirds can enjoy you date I''ll look after the big budgie."


    Miranda went a little red at Susan''s teasing while Kyle responded as deadpan as he can manage.


    "Thanks for that Susan. I want to move within 20 minutes get moving."


    With that the newly acquired slaves began breaking camp with one of the privates picking up their small sergeant in passing and tying him to one of the wolves so he wouldn''t fall off.


    Once they broke camp a force of wolves began running towards the battleground under the guidance of Susan who was leading them from the air. Kyle was having a "hard" time riding on the alpha as Miranda was squished up tight behind him making him have some very hormonal thoughts.


    ''It''s so soft.''


    ''Um squishy.''


    ''She''s too young.''


    ''We''re the same age.''


    ''I like big butts and I cannot lie.''


    ''Wait where did you come from?''


    ''The early 90''s.''


    While Kyle was having this strange and confusing internal monologue Miranda was having much purer and innocent thoughts.


    ''If only we didn''t have these others around this would be so romantic.''


    This new force tore through the forest scaring off any other beasts as they passed. After a while Maurice brought his wolf closer to speak to Kyle.


    "Sir while I appreciate you not destroying my men I feel I have to let you know that our army numbers around 120,000 men as of last count."


    "I have wolf cavalry your argument is invalid!"

 Chapter 168: Scrambled Eggs

    Maurice gripped his face when he heard this before responding.


    "What does that even mean?"


    Kyle became serious at this and focused on Maurice.


    "Look of that large army your guy apparently has how many of them are peasants that have been pulled off the street?"


    Maurice paused and thought about this for a moment totalling up in his mind the numbers.


    "About 90,000 I suppose but it''s hard to be exact."


    "Good so that means three quarters of their army have no loyalty or training so given the correct impetus would drop and run. Now how much of the remaining force can be classed as soldiers. I''m not talking about thugs and bullies but real soldiers?"


    "I guess around 5,000 are former imperial soldiers or fully trained guardsmen."


    "Okay now look at my forces we have 20,000 fully trained soldiers which even the least trained is capable of fighting a group of guardsmen on their own. Plus in case you aren''t aware all of them have received mage training to a greater or lesser extent depending on their specialization."


    When Maurice heard this, his eyebrows tried to escape the top of his head through his hair line. Training even a single mage should take time and would need a specific technique but here was Kyle telling him he had an army of warrior mages.


    Kyle on seeing his reaction decided it would be best not to tell Maurice that they were also sorcerers. At this moment Kyle felt Miranda tighten her grip on him from behind while they rode on the alpha.


    Half turning so he could see the top of her head as she buried her face in his back Kyle combed his hand through her hair.


    "Hey Miranda what''s wrong?"


    Miranda looked at Kyle with slightly red eyes before responding with a slight hitch in her voice.


    "I don''t know I just don''t want to disappear."


    "Don''t worry it''s just some interference from the over god Procrastinator and the creeping BS Laz-E-Shite."


    "Okay if you say so."


    Hearing their conversation Maurice looked at them strangely.


    "What are you talking about?"


    "Look it was just a wall break just leave it at that."


    Kyle responded as the broke through the forest into a large clearing and Susan dropped down to join them.


    "Hey guys how''s the ride?"


    She asked with a grin seeing Miranda hugging Kyle and him looking into the middle distance with a silly smile on his face.


    "Not bad these wolves can certainly haul ass."


    Walking Rih alongside Kyle and his wolf which garnered some strange looks from the surrounding men as they were looking at Rih closely, they saw it was different than any other beast they were familiar with.


    "So Kyle what are you going to call your new pet?"


    Susan asked with a grin, it was obvious she had a name in mind and was pushing Kyle so she could put forward her idea. Kyle looked around for inspiration before responding.


    "How about Bruno?"


    Susan and Miranda both looked at him strangely for a second before Miranda responded.


    "Kyle you can''t name your pet after your best friend."


    "Yeah you should call it a name which evokes pride, power and strength like Spot."


    With that windup and ultimate let down from Susan, the floodgates were opened and everyone around began giving suggestions.


    "Dave."


    "Blue."


    "Frank.


    "Dennis."


    "Susan."


    "Wrong gender numb nuts."


    "It''s an animal it doesn''t know the difference."


    "In that case it doesn''t know its own species so I say Duck."


    "Oh good point how about Sheep."


    "Lamb chop um lamb chop, is anyone else hungry."


    "Egg fried rice."


    "What as a name or for dinner?"


    "Both or neither I just wanted to be involved."


    "I like the fluff but these guys could really do with a saddle my balls have been so thoroughly crushed I can almost taste them."


    Deciding that enough was enough Kyle whistled to get everyone''s attention.


    "Alright guys keep moving we''ve got a lot of ground to cover before we meet our army. I''ll decide on a name later."


    "Alright you heard the man shift it. Sir I don''t mean to repeat myself but are you sure we will be accepted in your force."


    Maurice asked with some concern as he didn''t know how leadership was distributed among the Powell family and he wasn''t sure if Kyle could persuade Landon to spare his men and accept them within the fold.


    Kyle smiled at Maurice with a silly grin before responding quietly.


    "Its fine this isn''t the first time we''ve done this, soon you will be one of us."


    Maurice saw this grin and got a little nervous and with the sentence at the end he had a little shiver run down his spine as he had a bad feeling.


    The journey through the forest continued until dusk with the wolves jumping and slipping through the closely clustered trees. These beasts were smart however and were conscious of their riders so always aimed for gaps large enough for them to go through safely.


    As dusk approached they noticed the forest began to thin out rather than when the foliage abruptly stopped like when they found a clearing which allowed Susan to rejoin them for a bit before taking to the air again as a guide so they stayed in the same direction even if they couldn''t see any landmarks.


    Once they breached the tree line Susan dove down and Rih rejoined Kyle''s side cantering along keeping pace with the Alpha.


    "Kyle if we keep heading in this direction we should get to the area where the battle will happen in about 5-6 hours do you want to stop and let everyone rest as there is a large about 2 miles east of here which we should be able to camp on safely."


    Susan said while indicating with her hand to the west. Kyle shook his head with a small smile before giving the men their orders.


    "Alright you ingrates we are heading west to the camp ground, once we arrive I want a perimeter set with a 3 split guard get to it!"


    Kyle commanded in his best drill sergeant impression which wasn''t as effective as it could be due to his still cracking voice.


    "YOU HEARD THE MAN! DROP YOUR COCKS AND GRAB YOUR SOCKS SHIFT IT!"


    Maurice added his own blend of command as the guys headed over faster than before. They arrived in short order and had the camp setup before night fell. Kyle and the girls took Maurice''s command tent while he bunked with some of his men. Kyle let the wolves roam after he whispered to the alpha.


    The soldiers began digging through their packs for their rations but before they got to eat them the wolves reappeared with carcasses of different beasts minus their cores and dropped them with the men allowing them to make a proper meal for the first time in who knows how long.


    This was an immediate plus in the eyes of the soldiers as they usually ate dry rations with only the upper realms being able to have fresh food. They didn''t hate Maurice for this as when they were in the field he would eat whatever they ate.


    Kyle moved amongst the tents quietly listening to the chatter of the men for a bit, while Miranda was cooking hers, Kyle and Susan''s dinner.


    "Maybe it ain''t so bad."


    "Yeah I hope I can see my boys soon."


    "I hope they''ll reappear soon."


    "It''ll be fine they''ll drop again soon."

 Chapter 169: Heh 69

    "It''ll be fine they''ll drop again soon."


    This was one of the soldiers who was fiddling with his trousers causing Kyle to look away slightly uncomfortably. Deciding it would be in his best interest to leave these gentlemen to their own devices Kyle retreated to the tent he would be sharing with Miranda and Susan.


    Miranda was sitting outside the tent making a wholesome stew with some dried vegetables from the company stores filling it out and giving a mouth watering aroma. Kyle swallowed his drool and looked toward Miranda with a gentle stare. She was leaning over the pot which was braced over the fire. Stirring the food she could feel a gaze on her back, turning to the source she saw Kyle watching here which made her cheeks colour.


    "I''m happy you are okay."


    Kyle said before suddenly giving her a hug. There was nothing special about this, Kyle was just happy she was back with him safe and sound. Miranda wasn''t sure what to do in this situation so only returned the hug before speaking.


    "Thank you."


    Nothing else was needed and after a minute Kyle let go before looking around.


    "Where''s Susan?"


    "She''s inside just cleaning up before dinner."


    "I think I''ll do the same then."


    With that Kyle entered the tent to wash his hands and face while Miranda was watching him with a strange look in her eye before she spoke quietly to herself.


    "Good luck Suzie."


    Kyle pulled some of the thick fabric of the tent out the way as he entered. This worked as an entrance way to the tent and prevented people from being able to easily see into the tent. As Kyle lifted the last of the fabric what met his eyes was a pale unclothed back which was still slightly wet from being just washed.


    Susan wasn''t just having a quick wash as she got very dusty while riding Rih and decided to have a full wipe down before dinner. She had asked Miranda to keep an eye out while she cleaned herself but Miranda apparently had better ideas.


    Kyle looked at Susan with appreciation. Even though she was older than his own mother she didn''t look a day older than twenty and with the help of their new cultivation her skin was without blemish making her look very attractive. Kyle could only sigh as he thought that if she didn''t open her mouth the number of suitors chasing her would be uncountable. But alas we all have our crosses to bear and apparently Susan was one of his, while thinking this he remembered some of the shenanigans Susan pulled on her own or with Kyle and he couldn''t help but giggle to himself.


    Susan who was enjoying her sponge bath heard the sound from behind her and turned slightly expecting to see Miranda.


    "Miri do you have any shamp....."


    "Hi Susan nice side boob. I''ll wait outside."


    Kyle decided it would be best to wait outside as he saw Susan going a very impressive shade of red. Sometimes discretion is the better part of valour and knowing when to run like a little girl is the true road to success.


    Coming out of the tent Kyle looked at Miranda with a raised eyebrow. Miranda looked straight back at him with a sly grin before speaking.


    "Don''t tell me you haven''t thought about it after all you spend as much time with her as you do with the rest of us."


    Kyle sighed at this but couldn''t refute Miranda as it was true that regardless of the stupid stuff they did alone or together, he did have a soft spot for Susan and as a plus she was legal. The real problem would come from Susan herself as she felt she was too old. Even Kyle''s mother had been creating situations which pushed them together while the male contingent was clueless. Oh the joys of being a blockhead I suppose.


    Kyle sat down and looked at Miranda for a moment before he decided on what he wanted to say.


    "Are you girls fine with this, I feel that I''m getting to many girls and I don''t want you to think I care about anyone of you any less."


    This was Kyle''s true worry because if the number of girls gets to be any larger they may end up feeling slighted or loved less which would in turn sour their relationships. Miranda thought for a moment herself before responding.


    "The fact that this is the first thing you think of is the reason we don''t have a problem with you having a couple more. Plus we thought of Susan as one of us for quite a while so we aren''t worried."


    Kyle looked down for a minute before he spoke again.


    "I do like Susan I won''t lie about it but the choice in the end is hers, I just hope she knows that I care about her and to hell with age difference because I can''t even estimate as to what our life spans will be once our cultivation finishes."


    As Kyle finished speaking there was a swishing sound as the tent fabric was moved and Susan stepped out. She didn''t say anything and kept her eyes downward but she moved over to Kyle and sat on the log next to where he was standing. She patted the log next to her indicating Kyle should sit next to her.


    "A little less conversation, a little more action please."


    "All this aggravation ain''t satisfactioning me."


    "Everyone on the whole cell block...."


    "Wrong dope lyric though."


    Echoed out around the camp which was followed by wolf whistles. Unbeknownst to them, while they were talking the rest of the camp got wind of what was happening and stealthily closed in around them. Regardless of how tough they try to appear soldier''s gossip worse than any old woman and what they were watching looked like the worst soap opera in history.


    Susan in a true show of equality leapt from the log she was sitting on and started chasing those who were mocking her around the camp. While she may appear petite and delicate never forget she was a stage 3 cultivator and with her new training she was a force to be reckoned with.


    Mournful wails echoed through the camp while Kyle had dinner with Miranda while they made small talk before they were joined by a newly shy and demure Susan. She was calmer now that she had vented her embarrassment and after a little while they all retired to bed as tomorrow was likely to be a long day.


    *****


    Waking up the following morning Kyle stretched and heard certain muscles pop as they settled back in to place. Miranda was sleeping next to him while Susan still feeling shy slept on the other side of the tent.


    After a quick wash they broke camp and started moving towards the next battle field. Kyle didn''t really speak for most of the morning and instead had a look of supreme concentration on his face. The soldiers on seeing Kyle''s serious face didn''t disturb him and kept as quiet as possible while Miranda simply hugged him as they rode on.


    After a few hours Susan rejoined them and on seeing the tense atmosphere spoke to Kyle.


    "Hey bud what''s got you thinking so hard, don''t tell me you are finally a bit nervous about a battle."


    "Nah nothing like that I''ve just been thinking of a name for my new wolf buddy."


    Everyone who heard this sighed; it looks like their new boss is going to be hard to deal with to say the least. Susan and Miranda took it in stride however as over the years they had gotten used to his strange thought processes and had even adopted it to a certain extent.


    "So what have you decided on?"


    Asked Miranda with true curiosity burning in her eyes while Susan was also looking on with interest.


    "Well after thinking long and hard I''ve decided to call him Fen. Can you guess what it''s short for?"

 Chapter 170: Stars in their eyes

    "Well after thinking long and hard I''ve decided to call him Fen. Can you guess what it''s short for?"


    Kyle asked with a smirk. Miranda could only roll her eyes at this but as usual Susan took the bait.


    "Oh I know ask me, ask me!"


    Susan was a veritable ball of energy bouncing around; she was always drawn in by things like these.


    "Hum on second thought let''s leave it up to imagination for now shall we."


    Kyle responded earning him a pout from Susan and a giggle from Miranda. They continued on and gradually lessened the distance between them and the battle field.


    ****


    Shift to Landon


    ****


    Landon and the rest of the executives of their family had arrived at the battlefield during the night thanks to the falcons. Looking over the camp layout and the rotating guard shifts Landon had to say he was impressed and this was voiced by his brother.


    "Whatever anyone says about Kyle and his ways of training our guys can certainly build a secure camp."


    Harris was looking around with appreciation with his son Neil at his side working as his aide during this endeavour. While they were touring Landon found Ash who was working with his men alongside Bruno.


    "Hello Ash how''s it going?"


    Landon asked, he was polite to Ash for as he was the leader of his sons military force and secondly because his daughter was likely going to be one of his daughters in law. When Landon realised he was thinking in plural about his to be in-laws a little bit of pride alongside a healthy smidge of jealousy crept in.


    "Very well Sir Landon, the camp is pretty well complete and with the aid of the array guild the enemy had better stay away or they''ll have some nasty surprises."


    Ash spoke with some pride as this is the largest movement their new army has undertaken so people will be watching them and nit picking over every choice they make. Landon nodded at this before checking on Bruno.


    "Bruno are you doing well and learning something hopefully?"


    Bruno stood straighter when he was addressed by Landon before he chose his words.


    "I''m well my Lord, we''ve studied this extensively but to finally put what we''ve been learning into practice is a good feeling. Where''s Kyle is he with you or has he gone to do his hero thing?"


    Bruno couldn''t help but ask as he was worried about Miranda and by extension Kyle. As the closest man to Kyle he knew that if anything happened to Miranda, Kyle would not be gentle and go quietly into the night, no he would burn them all in righteous fire.


    "Kyle''s gone after Miranda I just hope nothing bad has happened."


    Everyone became quiet at this as they remembered the feeling of rage through their connection along with the burst of energy. This was scary just knowing the depths of Kyle''s anger if his girls were threatened. While Kyle''s anger was no different to anyone else who''s family was endangered, his soul force made this anger feel a thousand times more powerful and denser terrifying all those who felt it.


    "They''ll be fine Kyle will kerb stomp them and then be home for pancakes."


    As they spoke Clara and Elena had also approached alongside Lady Sparrow and Faye.


    "Oh hello there, what are you guys doing here?"


    Landon asked when he saw them, Clara and Elena were a given but Lady Sparrow was a spy master and didn''t have any function on a battlefield.


    "This is the first battle we''ve truly engaged in as an empire, I need to be here to see what we will become."


    Lady sparrow responded with some philosophical waffle before Clara burst her air of mystery.


    "Cough don''t you mean you miss your sister where she''s been busy and decided to crash the party."


    That lightened the mood which was quickly becoming dour and this was again further lightened when a loud and boisterous voice was clearly heard from one side of the camp to the other.


    "Landon, Harris you pair of maggots get your heads out of your asses and give a hand!"


    This was of course their father Bob the Beast who had invited himself to these festivities and was currently with his own unit helping set up the camp. His unit arrived a while after he had and had since been fully trained becoming one of the strongest units in this new force.


    Landon sighed before sharing a look with his brother. They were both glad they didn''t take after their father. Deciding it would just be best to ignore the loud mouth they continued their inspection seeing people they had trained with and groups they hadn''t seen for a while.


    The most interesting of these arrivals was the original seven of the shadow hand including one. These guys had become almost religious in their belief in Kyle and were usually operating in secret all over gaining information and extending their net. This was the first time they were all together in a long time.


    "What are you gents doing here, this must be the first time we''ve all been together in at least a year if not longer."


    Landon said as they greeted each other.


    "You didn''t think we''d miss our Lords first true war, the takeover of the city didn''t really count and this will be the making or breaking of us."


    Responded One, when he said Lord he wasn''t talking about Landon as some of those around did. His one and only Lord was Kyle, but as Landon was Kyle''s father One gave him the respect that position was due as did the rest of the Shadow Hand.


    "Well it''s good to see you; Kyle should be along soon so please rest until then."


    With that everyone went about their business as they readied themselves. The opposing force was nowhere near ready to attack and as they were the larger force it was on them to attack. A smaller force had fewer logistical problems such as feeding themselves so they could wait out the larger force continuously strengthening their position.


    Night passed and morning broke rousing Landon and the rest of the camp, after a few hours of prep and watching the enemy a scout came running into the camp.


    "Sir there is a mounted force coming from the east."


    Landon on hearing this thought it may be reinforcements or a delegation from one of the nearby towns.


    "Do they appear to be friendlies or not."


    Before the guard could respond a loud howl permeated the air and cresting the hill was a large number of wolf beasts. This sent everyone tumbling even though the arrays would protect them. But to everyone''s surprise the arrays didn''t even slow down this tide of fang and fur.


    Suddenly One shouted out.


    "My Lord welcome."


    Before kneeling down which was copied by the others in Shadow Hand. Landon looked again and saw Kyle riding on the back of the largest and fastest of the pack with Miranda peeking over his shoulder.


    Susan swept down on Rih at this point with a big grin on her face. If she had been with Kyle they would have seen Rih even in his changed form making them less worried but instead she wanted to play a prank.


    Kyle rode Fen close to Landon before skidding to a halt and smoothly climbing down and turning to Miranda and helping her down. The rest of the wolf riders milled around unsure of what to do as while Kyle had assured them of their safety, they were now in the middle of an enemy camp.


    "Yo dad you alright."


    Kyle said simply while everyone watched on and the crowd continued growing.


    "I''m alright but care to explain."


    Landon responded while sweeping his hand indicating Maurice and his men.


    "Well I made some new friends, they will be joining us so get them situated and outfitted."


    "SIR!"


    Responded Ash before he approached Maurice.


    "Don''t worry about it, this isn''t the first time Kyle''s done something like this so if you and your men would follow me we''ll get you some proper gear."


    Ash followed up while looking at the men''s arms and armour with some disdain. While there gear wasn''t the worst Kyle ensured that all of his people were outfitted with the best they could be. Most had weapons forged in a similar way to how Kyle had forged his first sword using arrays to make up for technique and skill but Randall had continued experimenting and training developing their blacksmithing to another level.


    These better weapons were not readily available so only around 5% of the army had this better gear. Even though the rest didn''t have these awesome weapons theirs were still head and shoulders above what even an elite unit like Maurice''s had.


    "Okay let''s go somewhere quieter and I''ll give you the rundown."


    Landon led Kyle and some of those closest to them to the command tent.


    "Alrighty then where to start, I rescued Miranda, enlisted some of the enemy elites, tamed a load of demon wolves oh and me and Susan are together now. Any questions?"


    Well that was short thought Landon before he picked up on the last point Kyle made.


    "Wait you got with Susan?"


    "Yup she finally broke down while we were travelling."


    At this there was a round of congratulations bringing a blush to Susan, she was always worried about how people may view her due to the age gap between her and Kyle.


    "Oh Kyle those wolves are pretty cool."


    Bruno spoke up returning everyone to their previous conversation.


    "Yup I know I wanted to name the alpha Bruno but that get the old heave ho, apparently it''s disrespectful or something."


    Bruno looked a bit put out at this.


    "Why would it be disrespectful they are cool who wouldn''t want one named after them?"


    "I know bro, it''s gotta be a chick thing."


    While they were speaking Landon finally came out of his stupor and decided to tease Susan a little.


    "So Susan you like my son do you, like taking em young?"


    Landon sniggered a little at this but Susan didn''t appreciate this. It touched on her worry but she couldn''t think of a proper response and her brain fell back on years of training and muscle memory, as such she moved to Landon at high speed and hit him, HARD.


    Susan has been training for a long time now and coupled with her higher stage and embarrassment she belted Landon harder than she meant to. Landon flew back through a chair and hit an old tree behind which was being used to hold the tent up. There was a bad sounding crunch and Landon fell to the floor.


    "DAD!"


    Kyle rushed to his father''s side to check on him while Susan calmed down and realised what she had done.


    "Oh hell is he okay I didn''t mean to hit him that hard."


    Susan asked in a panic as this wasn''t what she wanted by any means.


    "I think he''ll be fine it was just a bad knock. Dad wake up."


    Kyle began circulating his mana to heal up Landon. Gradually Landon began to stir before standing up on slightly wobbly legs.


    "Dad are you okay?"


    Kyle asked a little worried because Landon was still cross eyed.


    "I''m fine Matthew and tonight I''m going to be Shirley Bassey."