Emperor's Reckoning

The strong wind bellowed Lyon's hair against it. Tears escaped his eyes and passed his gritted teeth. He slowly took a deep breath as he faced the landscape over the broken walls.

"You two, hold on to me, now!" said Lyon as he looked at them with a smile.

The two servants were surprised by their new master call but they noticed dried tears below his eyes, though it was hard to come by from a distance, it was enough from their spot. Why did he smile at a mere servant, a fodder that was destined to be used and threw away? Why did he suppress his emotion to someone beneath him?

They couldn't come up with a single answer before Lyon forcefully pulled their arms as if leaping toward a gate of something they never knew existed. Their ears were filled with the voices of the angry wind as their clothes and hair fluttered against it. They could only open their eyes for a moment before they felt the smarting. However, in that one single moment, an image was already saved to their minds.

They were falling. They were falling from the tower they never left before. The defense mechanism in their bodies immediately activated as the sensation of helplessness seeped into their entire body like a flash.

"Aaaaah!!!"

"Hahahaha!" laughed Lyon wholeheartedly. The cruel wind didn't hurt his eyes and his confidence didn't waver as he faced the ground.

It might be full of sand but it was still a leap from a height that could leave even the peak Divine Cultivator critically injured.

"Hey Look! Something is falling from the tower!" shouted someone from the crowd below.

"Argh, this damn sand, I swear!" said another as he rubbed his eyes.

Lyon smirked before a wheeze of wind picked up the sands on the dunes and disrupted their vision completely for exactly a blink of an eye.

"Huh?" the first one that noticed the falling object rubbed his eyes until it was concerning red, "Nothing?"

The crowd was confused since within their capabilities as a cultivator, they could see something was falling down from the broken walls on the tower. However, there was no crater, no sound, no trace of something crashing down or even landing down. Speculations began to spark but the thoughts remain within each of their own minds since they didn't know each other and everyone in this place were people with status.

Meanwhile, a figure was seen standing straight while overviewing the landscape. His hands were behind his back and the mask he wore revealed his identity as one of the best in his profession. His facial expression was mostly hidden except for his eyes which gaze was as sharp as a sword. "A fake or a breakthrough," he muttered.

-----------------------

In Mabia, a wide search was initiated. Every nook and corner of this world, every clan, every kingdom, even tombs, and the likes, cultivators of various levels was seen flooding. The world never had so many people act in unison before and all of this happened because of one name, Treas.

The grand family name was said to have riches that could bury a world. Resources as far as the eye can see. However, right now, they were in a heated debate in the only private meeting room provided by the best inn in town.

A hand slammed the round table before the figure spoke, "What do you mean retracting your search force?! It's not even five hours since it began!"

"Sadly, by this time, I have to say that the champion from this division is most likely killed, again, hahaha!" said a handsome man with a smug on his face. He was wearing a full plate mithril armor without a helmet. His hair was light-brown apricot with a noble hairstyle. He had a noticeable pencil-thin mustache that was divided in two and his eyes were blue as the sapphire.

Karina furrowed her eyebrows, "What do you mean 'again'?"

"Hahaha, you're beautiful but quite dumb," the man leaned in, "It means the last champion was also murdered."

Karina opened her eyes wide. The thought of Lyon dying never crossed her mind before. That fateful kiss that she shared in the jungle and how he guarded her while she was cultivating was coming back to her. She shook her head before her sharp gaze penetrated the man in front of him.

"Murdered? Hah! Please, my hubby is not that weak."

The man furrowed his eyebrows as he looked at the orange-haired woman. A barbaric aura was emitting from her figure occasionally. He was startled for a second before he laughed once again.

"He may be not weak, not for this shitty world hahaha!"

A flash of killing intent immediately made his heart skipped a beat because it didn't come from one person but rather two of them at the same time. Before he could blink the sound of metal hitting metal was heard. His forehead palpitated as he gulped his saliva. An ax was raining down on his left eye and a reinforced finger was aiming for the right. A quarter of a second, if the guards were a little bit late, then the man was without a doubt dead.

"Oh you both are so dead now, this is an act against the Treas family! Hahahaha, I'm gonna have so much fun with both of yo—"

The door suddenly opened as Luna entered while holding Fenrir in her arms. Her academy garment was already no more and what replaced it was a tight battle garment with a white tiger symbol n her chest. Her purple hair was now tied into a ponytail as she exuded the charm of a maturing young woman.

She calmly sat between Karina and Ryona's seats but they were confused, her uncle was supposed to be the one who showed up instead.

"You can stop your search and go back home," said Luna.

"Tch! And who are you?!" shouted the man.

Never in his life, he was ever being told, let alone by a woman.

Luna took a deep breath, "I'm the captain of the winning team from Nostria. Princess of the Phantera Kingdom," She suddenly hesitated and blushed before her godmother persona kicked in, her eyes turned sharp as her gaze was unshakeable, "and most importantly, I'm Lyon's woman."