Chapter 133: Chapter 133 - The Capital(Part 1)

Point-of-View: Argent Stryker

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"Another one who doesn’t know anything, I’m starting to think that doing things this way is a futile waste of time. Whatever, just die," I sighed, as I slashed through the throat of the Knight.

He collapsed onto the ground with choking gasps, blood gushing out of his mouth and neck as he writhed around in agony, before his movements began weakening and slowing doing, until he went limp and slumped down.

"This is boring, can’t we just attack out in the open again?" Complained Izzy with a frown.

"The capital is on high alert after our initial attack, we’ll just have to lay low until it dies down," I shook my head, putting my blades away.

Today’s the 22nd of December, 2015, about a week had passed since we infiltrated the capital. I’ve captured, tortured and interrogated dozens of Knights at this point, but none of them could give me any information about my father.

Which isn’t exactly surprising, considering that even the current Knight Commander didn’t know, but it’s still pretty frustrating and disappointing. Izzy and I have been traveling through the sewers for the most part, sneaking back up at night and going through alleys, looking for more Knights to target.

Is my only choice to try and break into the Royal castle and search? I’ve seen it from afar, and even from a distance, it looks absolutely massive, plus there aren’t any buildings in the immediate radius around it, meaning that it’s a wide open space with no place to hide while sneaking towards it.

Even if we did somehow manage to get into the castle without being seen, which is next to impossible, it’d take hours to search the entire building while remaining undetected.

After all, security inside the castle has probably been ramped up immensely due to our actions...it’s quite likely that the Knight Commander informed the Royals of why we’re here.

Hm, assuming that’s the case, it’s highly probable that any Knights who do have the information I’m looking for have been commanded to stay off of the streets. In which case, these efforts are futile, I’m not going to find a Knight who knows what I want to know.

After the Commander, we haven’t captured any particularly high ranked Knights, they’ve all been low to mid ranked, and genuinely seemed to have no idea what I was talking about.

What should I do? I could let Izzy run amok, I suppose, like she’s been begging me to...it’s not like they’ve got anyone who’s strong enough to be a match for her, after all.

I can’t imagine that there’s anyone significantly more powerful than the Knight Commander, and while she put up a good fight, she was ultimately no match for Izzy in the end.

"I’m tired of lurking down here, it stinks. Come on, let’s do something different, it’s so boring just sneaking around and capturing people," She sighed as she shook my shoulder.

"I’m thinking about it, trying to decide what the best course of action would be to take...nothing concrete is coming to mind though," I responded as I patted her head.

"Let’s just-...hm? Someone’s coming this way," She suddenly perked up, turning her gaze up ahead, "I can hear...two people, I think."

Hm, must be more Knights. There were quite a lot of them down here in the few days after we captured and interrogated the Commander, but we killed them all pretty easily.

Naturally, I prohibited Izzy from using her flames, since I don’t want to die in a sewer explosion. That’d be a shitty way to go, pun intended.

After we wiped out all the Knights we came across down here, they’ve been sticking to patrolling the streets above, all equipped with cellphones and walkie-talkies to immediately communicate to their allies if they come across us.

"Alright, let’s knock them out and-...," I began, as I started to manifest my blades.

"Let me fight them, it’s the least you can do," She interrupted with a pout.

"Yeah, fine, they’re all yours. Don’t kill them, at least not until after I interrogate them," I instructed her.

"Yeah, yeah, I know the drill."

She then stepped forward and waited for them to come into sight, extending out her claws in anticipation...she’s probably gonna be disappointed, they’re likely not gonna be able to put up a real fight against her.

I could hear their footsteps now, and the muffled sound of voices, though I couldn’t quite make out what they were saying. As they came into sight and Izzy slightly bent her knees to sprint towards them, my eyes widened in surprise...they don’t look like Knights, or Nobles at all, for that matter... 𝙛𝓻𝒆𝒆𝒘𝙚𝓫𝙣𝙤𝒗𝙚𝓵.𝙘𝙤𝙢

"What the-...a Monster?" One of them frowned warily.

"For your sakes, you better be strong, or you’re in for a world of hurt!" She exclaimed gleefully, as she began to zip forward.

"Izzy, wait!" I called out, as I quickly reached out and grabbed the back of her collar before she took off.

"Wha-...hey! What gives!?" She protested indignantly.

"Just hold on," I remarked, as I stepped out in front of her and looked at the two men, "Are you two Knights? You sure don’t look like it."

"Excuse me? Do we look like Noble scum to you?" Frowned the shorter of the two, looking pretty offended.

Okay, they’re definitely Commoners.

"Stand down, Izzy, they’re not our enemies," I patted her head soothingly...I’ve learnt that this helps ease her aggression when she gets all hot blooded.

"Ugh, fine...," She muttered with a disappointed look on her face.

"Who are you two? Why are you in the capital?" I inquired warily.

"No need to be so tense, young man...my name is-...," Began the taller one with a friendly smile.

"Wait. It’s only polite to introduce yourself before asking for our names," The shorter one cut him off as he narrowed his eyes at us, staring at Izzy suspiciously.

Well, I guess that’s fair.

"My name is Argent Stryker, I’m here looking for someone, a family member captured by Nobles," I introduced myself, before giving them a look to prompt them to respond.

"Hold on, did you say Stryker?"

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Point-of-View: Aries Velenet

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"I have been meaning to speak to you for some time now, Commander Velenet. Raise your head."

"Yes, your majesty," I responded, raising my head and meeting the gaze of the King.

The current ruler of the nation of Obsidian, King Bronne Dianus. He was a sixty-seven year old man with a mane of grey hair that flowed down to his shoulders, and a thick, short grey beard and mustache.

He had bright, dark blue eyes and a stocky build. He was seated on his throne and adorned in golden robes, a thick red flowing mantle, and of course, the Royal crown, staring down at me with a frown.

There were several guards in the throne room as well, along with the Queen, the four Princes and three Princesses, including the Crown Prince.

"There is no questioning your ability and your loyalty, however...I have received many reports from several Knights regarding certain actions that you have taken, questionable actions," He remarked as he narrowed his gaze.

"I firmly believe that every action I have taken has been with the best interests of our nation in mind, your majesty. If any of my actions have displeased you, I shall accept any punishment that you see fit," I replied without hesitation.

"Hm...then, let us discuss the actions in question. Primarily, the execution of two of the Knights that you carried out in the Commoner settlement, Kieph Town. Following that incident, I received many complaints from other Knights, recommending your removal from the position of Commander."

"Your highness, I believe that my actions in that matter were justified...it was during our hunt for the young Commoner boy who escaped the capital, killing several people along the way. As we searched the town, I issued explicit instructions that no innocent Commoners were to be harmed. Those Knights blatantly disregarded and disobeyed my command, killing helpless Civilians who meant them no harm," I surmised, defending myself.

"And you believe that the lives of those Commoners were equivalent to the lives of the Knights?" He responded with a raised eyebrow.

"As Knights, I believe that our duty is to protect the nation and its people. The Commoners are our people too...are we not obligated to protect them simply because they are of a lower social class? Of course, those who are criminals must undoubtedly be punished accordingly, but I have always been against the mistreatment of innocent people simply because they are of a lower social class," I remarked, deciding to speak my mind.

An audience with the Royal family is a rare thing, even for the most high ranking of Nobles. I won’t waste this opportunity, if I can inspire even the slightest change for the better, it will be worth any penalty imposed on me...

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