Way of the Knights

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"Nina, Tori. Come, it's time to go." The voice of a lady filled with motherly affection sounded inside the room where two girls were playing. 

The twins, Venina and Victoria, giggled at the sound of their mom calling them. They dropped their toys ands started walking towards her. 

Eva took their hands and smiled at them, the twins continued giggling as they went outside of their house. 

"Look! It's Daddy." Nina pointed out as soon as they exited the house. 

"Daddy!" Tori called out while jumping. 

Luis, who heard the voices of his children, smiled and took both of them on his arms. He gave each of them a peck of their cheeks and the twins did the same. He then said:

"How are you girls? Did you behave well while Daddy's out?"

"Yes! We're good girls, right Tori?" Nina answered.

"Um!" Tori nodded her head vigorously, "We're good girls!"

"Good job!" Luis laughed as he tickled both of them, causing the girls to giggle merrily. "Okay, if you continue doing that, then I'll buy you cakes when I return."

As twins heard his promise, their eyes shone with excitement. Nina started clapping while Tori started drooling.

"Promise! We will behave! We want cakes! Yay for cakes!" Nina exclaimed. 

"Um, cakes! Must be a good girl for cakes!" Tori nodded vigorously while agreeing. 

Luis laughed then he brought them down, they then ran towards Eva and the four started walking to a nearby carriage. The twins went inside the carriage first, their attentions were immediately caught by something shiny which prevented them from hearing what Luis and Eva were talking about. 

"Is this really necessary?" Eva asked Luis, doubt was present on her face including worry and fear. 

Luis sighed and hugged his wife, he then said: "Yes, it is. I wouldn't compromise for your safety."

"But what about you? And the kids?" Eva asked, the kids she's referring to were Luna and the rest of Raven's team. 

"They've made their decision." Luis firmly said, "They're no longer kids anymore. They willingly accepted their responsibilities for the Kingdom and they want to uphold it."

"Just be...careful out there okay? You must return alright? If you dare make me a widow, I'll hunt you in the afterlife." She warned him, making Luis smile wryly. "And if you see your son out there, drag his ass back home for me will you? I'll have to teach that kid a lesson for not even updating us about his well being."

"Yes, yes, and yes." Luis answered, he planted a kiss on her lips as he gently urged her to ride the carriage. "Go, take care of our children."

Eva looked at him with eyes full of worry before turning around and getting on the carriage. Luis signaled the man and then the carriage started moving, it's destination is towards the Royal Palace. 

Luis waited until the carriage was out of sight, once it was gone, his expression hardened and was filled with resolve, he then went back to his office and decided that it was time for the Hawk Force to have some debriefing.

It has been two days since all Knights on the Kingdom dreamt about the upcoming calamity. That's right, all of them. Anyone who's at least Knight Realm and above dream of the same thing and since then it had been a hot topic amongst their ranks. 

A decree was released from the Royal Palace, forbidding anyone to release this in public to avoid paranoia from the citizens. All knights were then summoned and was briefed about the issue. Since then, the Kingdom started preparing for the upcoming war of survival. 

All civilians were asked to move towards the Inner Court of the Kingdom. All they were told was that the Kingdom is facing yet another beast horde. And since this was a regular occurrence from time to time, the mobilization occurred in an orderly fashion. 

Every soldier began attending drills to prepare for battle. They also received some pre-war supplies which they can use to boost their strength in the upcoming battle. 

The Sacred Leaf Tavern had been extremely busy. Every single one of their alchemist had their hands full with huge orders. It wasn't just them of course, each association were also busy for war preparations as well. 

The Blacksmiths had been working on some of their revisions for the Worker Constructs, somehow they were able to attach some offensive capabilities to the constructs, making them useful for the upcoming war. Those who can't participate in the project, had been tasked to create armors and weapons for the soldiers.

The Inscriptionists were creating additional defensive arrays and formations for the Kingdom. They are also tasked to create some deadly traps or anything that could slow down the advance of their enemies. 

The Military forces had been dividing their forces into teams and training them in drills. Enforcing discipline will prove to be an incredible asset in the upcoming war so they aren't holding back at all. 

The Lair Hunters had been tasked with an important mission. Some of them, Mark included, were tasked to scout ahead and inform the kingdom about the movement of the horde. In fact, Mark went ahead first. He left during the same night when everyone dreamt of it. His colleagues were sent after him and when they caught up, Mark already had a report. 

Due to their efforts, it had been confirmed that their dreams weren't just some sort of a coincidence. There is in fact, signs of a beast horde, which scale is something that the Kingdom had never experienced before. It is also confirmed that the Black Curtain Guild were also taking part of it, which made Luna's interpretation become reality. It was due to this discovery that the Kingdom started taking action. 

Mark received orders to return. Although he was a bit reluctant, he can't disobey. All he could do is to set up traps on his way back, hoping to shave at least a portion of their forces before they arrive at the Kingdom. 

***

"How's it?" Anne asked as soon as she saw Mark return. 

Mark didn't speak, but his gloomy expression was enough to answer them. He sighed and said:

"Terrible." Mark frowned, "Luna's interpretation was on point - well, mostly. I didn't feel the Pale Bastard anywhere, but if there's anyone who could rally that many Demonic Beast along with the Black Curtain Guild, it would only be him."

The room became silent, all of them wore serious expressions on their faces.

"Cultivation Realms? Tiers?" Paul asked.

"Knights, all Tier 3 and above." Mark answered, causing Paul to clicked his tongue. 

"What took you so long to return?" Ellen asked, she knows about Mark's speed which is on par with Old Lee. If he wanted, he could've returned the same night when he left but he just arrived to day.

"Setting up traps." Mark answered, "Hoping to at least, shave some of their numbers. They're way too many."

"That's good." Luna commented, "Hopefully that slows them down."

The atmosphere inside the room became a bit somber. 

This war is unprecedented. And even though their team are strong, they couldn't help but second guess their chances of survival. 

While they might be strong, the sheer numbers of the enemy forces will surely wear them down. The walls they built might not even last for an hour once the beasts makes contact with it. 

Needless to say, they can't possibly run away from this. The Final Haven Kingdom is their home. None of them are willing to allow their enemies to trample it down just like that. Their resolve to defend their home were strong enough to the point that they are willing to lay down their lives if it would mean the survival of their home. 

"Argh!" An irritated groan was heard from Paul. He stood up and said: "I can't sit still like this. Is there something we can do for now?"

"We were told to save our strengths for battle." Ellen said but just like Paul, she too felt irritated and somehow powerless. 

"But we should still be able to do something right?" Paul said in an almost desperate voice. "I mean, we could just consume some recovery pills before they arrive. I don't think we should be remaining idle like this. It doesn't feel right."

"He's right." Mark said, standing up as well. He wasn't showing any signs of fatigue even though he just returned. "I'll go help with the traps."

"Why don't rest first?" Anne asked, worried about him. Mark shook his head, causing Anne to sigh since she knows that she can't stop him. "Alright count me in."

"I'll go see how the Ruby Knights are doing." Ellen said, she then turned towards Paul and said: "I think you should check out the military drills."

"Good idea!" Paul smiled, kissing Ellen's cheeks. 

Ellen grumbled and looked at Luna, asking: "How about you?"

"I'll go to the Sacred Leaf Tavern. I think they need additional hands due to the massive orders." 

"Alright, since everyone's decided. Let's make use of our time." Paul said, earning nods from his teammates.. They existed the meeting room and headed out towards their targets. 

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