[Nightmare]

"Who's the brat? We're not running a kindergarten." A man scoffed with a gruff voice.

He was large and had bulky shoulder muscles.

A long, brown bushy beard with silver streaks covered his chin.

Before Tyrene could reply, Helix spoke.

"Hello. My name is Sir Helix Margrave, a Knight of the Alzerian Royal Guard." He interjected.

"Hah!? Knight? Royal Guard?" The man asked with a bewildered expression.

"Are you joking!? Hawhawhawhawhaw!"

He erupted into laughter, bending over and holding his sides with his hands.

"And I'm the Parkeet of Silcock!" He roared.

"If that's true, then Alzeria isn't as strong as it once was!"

Helix watched the man with a calm face.

Tyrene wasn't so calm.

She was about to beat the man senseless and denote her credentials, but Helix stopped her with his hand.

"General Lackbolt, I am quite serious." Helix announced.

"Is there a way that I can prove that my presence here is justified?"

General Lackbolt stopped laughing and shot Helix an aggressive gaze laced with bloodlust.

To his surprise, Helix didn't flinch or cower in the slightest.

"Hmmm." He muttered while stroking his chin.

General Lackbolt turned to Tyrene.

"And you are? If you're not a babysitter, then what are you?" He asked.

"She's a fighter under my command." Helix replied, speaking for her.

"Does it look like I'm speaking to you, boy?" The man roared aggressively.

"You're not. But you should be, and that's the problem." Helix replied with an icy glare.

"Do you have a death wish, boy?" General Lackbolt snapped with a murderous gaze.

"No, I don't. I mean no disrespect to you, or your command.

However, I ask that you check my name with your attaché." Helix replied.

"My attaché? Now you're telling me you're important?" General Lackbolt laughed.

"Helix. Why don't you just tell him—"

Tyrene was trying to ask why he wouldn't tell General Lackbolt that he was here with three grandmasters or why he wasn't disclosing their assignment from the king.

However, she was cut off.

"Tell me what, hmmm?" General Lackbolt asked sarcastically.

"General Lackbolt. Is there a method to prove that I'm competent?" Helix reiterated.

"Yeah, you can get the hell out of my sight." The man gruffed.

"Unfortunately, I cannot do that. Once again, I'm on—"

A fist flew at Helix's face at lightning speed.

It was designed to knock Helix out cold, gauged by its pressure and momentum.

"Gahhhhhh!" General Lackbolt groaned.

"General Lackbolt. Is this enough to prove I'm competent?

If not, I'll prove it in some other way." Helix replied calmly.

General Lackbolt's fist was in his hand, getting squeezed with enough pressure to break a normal soldier's wrist.

"If there isn't a way, please check with your attache to see if they've received a request for a Helix Hellsgate Margrave."

Helix released the man's fist.

General Lackbolt gripped his shaking hand in disbelief.

"Boy, I don't care who the hell you are. If you don't—"

"S-Sir!" A man ran over in a panic.

"I overheard your conversation!

Helix Margrave is here upon royal assignment!

He's commanding three grandmasters and another three experts.

We cannot afford to offend this boy!"

General Lackbolt's eyes widened with shock.

"Ey, boy—Sir Helix. Why the hell didn't you just say that!" General Lackbolt cried.

"General Lackbolt, you insulted my country, called me a kindergartener, and spat on a grandmaster without asking who I was." Helix replied with an icy voice.

"You didn't believe I was a Knight, so telling you wouldn't have made a difference.

Then you ignored my request to verify my identity yourself."

Cold sweat dripped down the man's spine as he peered into Helix's pitch-black eyes.

"I don't fault you for looking down on my age.

That's why I asked if I could prove my competency, and you didn't give me that opportunity.

Don't disrespect me further by insinuating this misunderstanding was my fault."

"R-Right. My apologies, Sir Helix." General Lackbolt stuttered awkwardly.

"We're dealing with a fucking calamity here, so I've been on edge."

Helix nodded in understanding.

"I understand. We'll forget this happened." He replied with a lenient tone.

General Lackbolt sighed a breath of relief.

If Helix pulled out, he would get reprimanded for disrespecting a king's guest and lose three grandmasters and three experts.

If they lost the battle, he might've lost his life.

"Let's start over. My name is General Lackbolt of the 88th Brigade of the Kozen Royal Army." He said with a cordial tone.

He was still wincing from the pain, but he gritted his teeth and bared it.

"Sir Helix Hellsgate Margrave, It's a pleasure to meet you.

Tyrene, please introduce yourself." He requested with an inner grin.

"Hello, General Lackbolt. My name is ex-general Grandmaster Dame Tyrene Masney of the Alzerian Royal Army.

During his youth, I was Sir Helix's master, and now I serve under his command." She said in an icy tone.

General Lackbolt's eyes couldn't get any wider.

Helix grinned inwardly in satisfaction.

However, he wore a poker face on the outside.

His expression was calm and resolute.

It had the confident aura of a leader.

"I-I see. Thank you both for working with us on this pressing issue." General Lackbolt said with an awkward tone.

"You're certainly welcome. Can you please give me a briefing and a breakdown of your current forces, the battle strategy, and a list of individuals I can inquire information from?" Helix requested.

"Yes… come into my tent." The man said with a bewildered voice.

He was taken aback by Helix.

While he was 18, he commanded the respect and attention of a 65-year-old decorated general.

Tyrene chuckled inwardly while watching how smoothly things were going.

—

"At first, I planned to smack you for your antics back there." Tyrene remarked with a bemused tone.

"However, after seeing the results, I'm honestly impressed."

Helix chuckled and shrugged his shoulders.

"Where did you learn how to do that?" She asked.

The two were walking back to their caravan after two hours of briefings.

Helix turned to Tyrene.

"I honestly didn't. However, I knew General Lackbolt wouldn't take me seriously because of my age, and I can't fault him.

However, it's imperative we fight because we're central figures." He replied calmly.

"If you spoke up, we'd get into the conversation, but I couldn't lead you without friction.

Therefore, I planned to match up against someone and show overwhelming force.

When he took me seriously, I'd release my credentials, and then he'd trust me with strategy."

Tyrene nodded in understanding.

It had been years since she had to deal with proving herself to anyone.

Therefore, she was still processing that Helix was an official figure for this assignment.

"That was boss!" Charlotte declared while running up to him with an evil grin.

Helix chuckled at her antics.

"I'm glad that you enjoyed the show." He said with a slight smile.

"How couldn't we? I have strong leadership skills, and I couldn't have pulled that off." Marie replied with a pride-filled gaze.

She was proud of Helix.

Marie always saw him as a leader to her and their peers in Alzeria.

Now that he had the strength to defend himself, his leadership filled her heart with awe and excitement.

"You underestimate yourself, Marie." Helix replied with a gentle smile.

"There's a difference between authority and leadership.

While I may be able to achieve the former, you can command the latter.

We'll make a power team during this operation and moving forward."

Marie's face turned bright red, and she started fidgeting.

"And I'll roast anyone that questions you, chief." Charlotte declared with a puffed-out chest.

Helix laughed with a bewildered expression.

He couldn't get enough of Charlotte's antics.

"I will be delegating the command of the experts and Elsa to you." He continued while looking at Marie.

Her eyes widened with surprise.

"Why?" She asked.

"Why? There might only be six of us, but the battle will stretch a large range due to the Stalkwalker's size." He reasoned.

"I'm negotiating to obtain troops to lead.

The spells you three use are large scale and dangerous, so we need troops that will run away for cover."

"That's an astute observation." Tilo called out.

"It's critical that we are given space.

It's great that you have already figured out the objective early on.

We wanted to see how you would handle that issue on the battlefield.

However, it seems that wasn't a worry."

Tyrene nodded with a smirk on her face.

His partners looked at him with pride-filled expressions.

"I'm glad I haven't disappointed." Helix replied with a slight smile.

—

Power stones and grammatical errors = more content. :)