“Keep running! I’ll hold them off!”

  Aelion screamed to his family, his unconscious grandmother and his personal maid inside a carriage pulled by two huge reptilian creatures called Terror Rexes, with such creatures pulling the carriage and the identity of the woman inside no one should have even thought of attacking them.

  Yet right now, the carriage wheels had been broken while they were fleeing from the attackers. They were dressed as simple bandits but their skills, training and the fact they wielded extremely well made weapons and even had two Ancestors on their side made it clear that a conspiracy was afoot.

  “Go Aelion. You’re our family’s last hope. We cannot lose you.”

  A voice came right next to Aelion, his grandmother had appeared next to him. Staring at the old but still beautiful woman, standing tall next to him, her grey hairs shining with surprising vitality. Her eyes are firm and resolute.

  She wore a beautiful blue, red and gold robe, showing her status as a member of the Pyrax Empire’s Imperial Family. A massive hammer in her hand as a thick red and gold armor started to cover her entire body.

  The might of an Ancestor exploding from her body, blowing sand away. However, the armor was cracked, battered and bloody in many places. His grandma had been single handedly fighting four Ancestors and had even succeeded in slaying two of them.

  “We cannot allow that, the Emperor would never forgive us if anything happened to either of you, please retreat. Lady Valenia, take Lord Aelion and run away.”

  “AH-foolish girl, you’re much too young to tell an old woman she must survive. Take Aelion, go back to Pyrax and warn my son of the conspiracy!”

  Valencia threw a golden emblem showing a nine headed golden hydra, the symbol of the Pyrax Empire, as the maid received the emblem her hands trembled, in her hands was an emblem that every citizen of the Empire had once dreamed of seeing, much less holding. The Key to the Imperial family’s treasure vault.

  A place guarded by two Beyonders Transcendent at all times. Valencia, spit out blood, despite the broken pieces of armor, she had seemingly no injury on her. However, she looked pale, her veins too purple to be natural.

  “You are a Beyonder, Grandma! We cannot allow you to die! You’re too precious to the Empire!”

  “AH! My death or life isn’t worth anything compared to the true backers of our Empire, while the Thrones stand, Pyrax will never fall. My death is inconsequential to the survival of the Empire, boy!”

  Aelion’s life flashed before his eyes. Tears building up in them. Aelion was born a cripple. Yet despite this situation, he was beloved by his parents who raised him properly and made sure he would be given excellent education if he couldn’t get stronger for the Empire then he would become good with his head to run it.

  He was the bastard son of the sister of the Empress. A rank that made his family amongst the highest nobles of the Imperial Court. And with the Empress and Emperor having a very good relationship with his parents, to the point he could, in private, call them by their names, everyone knew the Arendeers family was amongst the most powerful of the Empire.

  So why… Why were they running away like bandits from their own territory? Who was attacking them? Did they get betrayed? Was it the imperial family themselves? No… Julia would have warned him! They were best friends!

  “Calm down, Aelion!”

  A calm soothing voice came from a simple silver ring on his finger, even if none could see her, a tiny Prothean woman was floating on top of his ring. This was Suk’kulkan, one of the brightest and oldest Prothean biologists.

  She floated close to his head, looking like an ethereal ghost, glowing a soft blue, her actual color apparently, not just because she was a ghost. She was the only reason why he was able to heal himself.

  Using her scientific knowledge and skills, in exchange for Aelion helping her revive. She had been with him for the last two years and he came to consider her his true teacher and maybe, even a second mother if he had to admit it.

  This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

  “Calm your mind and think. If it was the Imperial Family, no one would have batted an eye to the Emperor coming to deal with you. And poisoning his own mother-in-law? You know how close your mom, aunt and grandma are. They would never forgive the Emperor for doing this.”

  “If the Imperial Family wished to wipe you out, they could easily kill you all by summoning the armies. This isn’t them. This is AGAINST them. Your parents are away with the Emperor and Empress, this was the perfect time to strike.”

  Aelion took a deep breath, closing his eyes for a single second before opening them wide, squeezing his sword tighter. He might just be a level 20, but he would never let his grandma and maid die. The attackers were after him and his grandmother so…

  “Listen to my grandmother, Moria, take the Key and run away, we’ll hold them off as long as we can! They are after us, not you!”

  “And you forget you’re weaker than me, Lord Aelion.”

  “Sorry to interrupt, your highness”

  A loud voice spread through the desert as a man, closely followed by around a dozen other men and women landed in front of them. Despite their clothes their calm and collected faces empty of any arrogance or amusement showed those were professionals, not common bandits.

  The leader, an Ancestor, walked forward. He was followed by a woman, another ancestor. Their bodies riddled with injuries that were already healing from the numerous potions they must have drunk on the way.

  The Dowager Empress, Valencia stepped forward. A shield and sword appearing in her hands, each of those weapons were [Legendary] items that had accompanied his grandma all her life.

  “Behind me Aelion, Moria.”

  She would love to give a good reminder to those stubborn brats they had wasted the time she won for them but now was not the time to argue with kids.

  “Before we fight again, could you at least tell me which poison you used and how? I’m truly curious how it passed all the scans and even my internal defenses.”

  Valencia’s face showed genuine curiosity, despite her incoming death, she was actually interested to know how they managed such an exploit.

  “Sadly we cannot tell you, Lady Valencia. Just know we take absolutely no pleasure in killing one of the greatest defenders of our Empire, but we have no choice. Your death will be the embers for the coming war.”

  “Coming war?”

  A spark of realisation flashed in Valencia’s eyes. The old Throne being far too used to the Empire politics to not know what this all meant.

  “So you must be from the Radical Faction. Let me guess, you’re gonna frame the Covenant or the Northern Alliance for my death?”

  Her eyes soon showed pity as she stared at the group that despite their age having to be well above forty were just a bunch of kids to her.

  “So the foolish brats who were raised believing that only in war will our Empire strengthen itself, will now doom it to destruction by alienating the whole continents. A bunch of idiots.”

  The attacker's eyes widened a bit but grew cold soon after.

  “Your kind is the reason our Empire is weak! With our faction at the helm and advising the Emperor, we’ll crush Zenthia under our might! Look at our Empire! It accepts cripples and inferior races like Centaurs and Lizard-Men! We should crush and exterminate them, not ally with them!”

  “And I will crush your fucking balls with my bare hands!”

  With a roar, a huge hydra of golden energy appeared behind Valencia, nine heads staring down at the group before them as the two opposing Ancestors summoned two great snakes behind them. This ability to summon their bloodline was exclusive to the Pyrax Empire.

  Aelion pulled out his own sword and shield while his maid stood behind him wielding two daggers, ready to defend her master from his blind spots. The rest of the attackers also charged forward. Aelion knew he was too weak, but he would not retreat, it was too late now!

  Valencia's sword slammed heavily into one of the Ancestors who required both his hands to hold his tower shield and not buckle under such might, despite her poisoning, Valencia was still above an Ancestor from sheer fighting experience and skill, her stats had also been naturally very high for a Throne.

  Moria exploded forward, she might not be an Ancestor but she was still enough to fight on par with three of the attackers by herself. Most attackers were fighting against Valencia. One against nine fighters which included two Ancestors. Aelion was only fighting one attacker.

  It was the hardest fight he ever had. But he was too weak. He had barely succeeded in healing himself and getting some great Traits to level up to fifteen that he was already fighting someone at least level 40.

  Fighting being maybe an exaggeration as his opponent was clearly playing with him. Anytime Moria tried to reach for him she’d be blocked by one of her opponents.

  Despite Valencia’s blows becoming stronger, the attackers kept calm. They knew she was like a cornered lioness, dying and allowing herself to go all out no matter the consequences, all to protect the two kids she had seen grow from their birth to today. It was also when she was the most dangerous as the two dead fighters at her feet showed.

  “I’ll deal with the kids! Hold her off!”

  The leader suddenly threw himself with great power and speed toward Aelion, the great serpent behind him charging with extreme speed and power, ready to swallow Aelion. Moira threw all caution to the wind, not caring about any attack she could receive, rushing forward to protect her master.

  Valencia’s eyes burned with wrath, unable to do anything as the second Ancestor was also targeting her grandson with some of his attacks. She could only hope Moira or Aelion would have a trick up their sleeves!

  Aelion saw the Ancestor’s serpent bloodline summon ready to tear him to shreds just a few millimeters away from him, Suk’kulkan’s voice screaming at him with what he would have recognised as real worry if he was focused on it. Closing his eyes. Death… he hadn’t expected it to be so…

  “Slow isn’t it?”

  A voice cut through the battlefield.

  The Bloodline Summon in front of him was gone. The Ancestor that had attacked him, now had a glaive impaling his body coming inside his head and out from between his legs.

  Two soulless burning green eyes staring into his.

  A strange blue crystalline wall appeared behind Aelion and Moira and stopped them from being flung back as a loud booming sound almost shattered Aelion’s eardrums, causing a shockwave that blew all non Transcendent fighters flying.

  The battlefield was frozen in shock, even Valencia, the most battle hardened here was shocked, however her experience quickly used this advantage to deal a deadly stab toward the shocked Ancestor that stood frozen at his comrade’s sudden death. Never waste an opportunity.

  The sight was indeed shocking as a strange silvery construct was now kneeling upside down on a crystalline blue platform, his body held in that position by his casual grip on his glaive as he stared into Aelion’s eyes.

  “Death. It’s slow isn’t it, kid?”