Hero of Darkness

After 10 days of constant travel and changing many routes as well as his appearance four times, Kahn and the crew finally arrived at the capital of the Vulcan empire called Arkensan. 

Kahn took his time hiding his tracks using true dimension so no one could detect him and he changed several transportation methods so if anyone tailed him from Oslo city, he wouldn't even imagine that he was in the capital. 

And after 2 days of rest after the system resurfaced after the upgrade and Ronin brought the required Intel about the capital and how things functioned there… the gang finally reached a particular place in Arkensan. 

Kahn already gathered enough information that Arkensan was as vast as Rathna. But the key difference was that it wasn't divided by districts but 6 different regions that were a few hundred kilometers in the perimeter. 

Each of them had a different type of structure and living conditions. 

One section was set in mountains while the other was on seashores. One section was at the peak of industrial advancement while the other being the biggest economic hub of the capital. 

Unlike the Rakos Empire… there was no government in charge or any noble factions who controlled one sector of the empire or had their people in positions of authority. 

Everything was under the control of the Firebornes and the whole empire was governed under an Imperialism structure. 

After the Imperial Clan, the strongest force was the Church of Hetrax which was the only and official religion of the empire.

And also, there were many temples and sanctuaries made for deities who accepted servitude to God Hetrax. 

The 9 deities who served Hetrax were called the Nine Eternal Flames. There was even a folktale about how the one to get the blessings from all nine deities would become the personification of these deities and will have the right to become the official spokesperson of their god. 

As for Kahn, he stopped at the one section that he desperately wanted to settle in first. 

Unlike his previous preference in Rathna, it was neither an industrial area nor an economic hub. 

But the section that was specialized in smithing and forging. The place that was the biggest manufacturing region of weapons and armors in the whole empire. 

Kahn finally arrived in Nidavellir, also nicknamed as… 

Home of the Dwarves. 

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Kahn and the team walked across the crowded streets of Nidavellir that were bustling with millions of people in just a few squares spread across this region established over a dozen enormously vast mountains that were connected to each other perfectly. 

The architecture, the buildings, gigantic statues, constructs and the well-developed settlement here made Oslo city look like a backwater town. 

They entered a tavern to take rest and gather some information from the locals. 

They all took a seat over the left corner and just when they were about to place their order and enjoy the local food… 

"Who allowed humans to enter here?!" shouted a red foxkin as he looked at Kahn, Ceril, Jugram, Armin and Ronin. 

Unlike Omega, Blackwall and Oliver, the rest of the subordinates looked like pure humans.

The red foxkin then pointed out towards a sign that said 'No Humans Allowed' that was hung on the wall. 

"Get out!" spoke the foxkin. 

Just then, a gray rabbit-kin woman walked in. 

"Nick, they're already seated here. Stop making it a big deal." spoke the rabbit woman with two long, pointed and fluffy ears who seemed to be the cashier of the tavern. 

"Judy, I already told you! No humans in my tavern!" he said in an exasperated tone. 

"These bastards only ruin everything wherever they go." he continued in a contemptuous tone. 

"All right, we will go." spoke Kahn and signaled their crew to leave. 

He gave a look towards the duo of fox and rabbit named Nick & Judy and spoke to himself… 

[Why do I feel like I've seen them somewhere before?] asked Kahn to himself. 

"Master… I want to teach them a lesson for disrespecting us." spoke Ceril as his hands trembled with rage. 

"No need. They're just common people following the set of beliefs instilled by the ruling authorities and religious institutions. 

Besides, this will be the same case all over the empire. Are you going to beat the crap out of millions of people?" asked Kahn. 

He let that insult go because that's what the situation was for humans in many places. And Kahn didn't have time or the will to play the game of oppressor and dictators. Not in a place where he was a wanted person. 

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Kahn then sent the three subordinates who looked like hybrids and Demi-Humans to gather some information in crowded places. 

All they did was throw around some hundreds of Harlens and in half an hour, they reported back after people willingly gave them all the useful information they wanted. 

One harlen was equivalent to one gold dramus in this empire so nobody could resist the temptation of earning such a large sum just for some directions. 

"There are 3 places we could go. The closest one is in the west, just 20 kilometers away." spoke Oliver. 

Kahn and the group then traveled to 2 big buildings where thousands of people were either customer or worked in weapon manufacturing companies. 

However, they weren't allowed to enter both of them… again because their side had humans in it. 

And given the population… humans were already a species with the lowest count in this empire. So their business didn't even feel the need of having humans as customers. 

And finally… they stopped in front of the gates of a big headquarters. Compared to the previous two places… it wasn't crowded or even had half the people entering or leaving. And there was no restriction on humans from entering either. 

Forget restrictions… there weren't even proper guards stationed at the main entrance. 

Kahn then looked at the massive plaque made of jade and read the name of this weapon forging enterprise… 

The Oakenshield.