Riley separated himself from James and chose the southern area to train. Meanwhile, James chose the northern area as if the two people were on opposite sides.When practicing, the prospective soldiers wear short-sleeved shirts and lightweight pants that allow them to move freely. However, when the fight began, they would change costumes according to their branch. For unarmed free martial arts, they would wear additional armor.Riley had already started stretching his muscles and started doing less extreme movements to maintain his energy.When he had been practicing for about thirty minutes, someone approached, "Hey, you're Riley Wood, right?"Riley, who was doing a headstand, slowly returned his position and turned to the person asking him, "Yeah. What's up?""I'm Warren Clay," the young man said as he stretched his hand.Riley welcomed his hand and then asked, "Which dorm are you from?""3. Can I come and train here?" Warren asked back.Riley nodded, "Go ahead. Anyone can train here
"If it wasn't for you being ranked number one, I wouldn't say that," Warren retorted.He spat before leaving Riley who could only let out a long sigh. Some people were watching him, but Riley chose not to care about their responses.The young man continued practicing.Meanwhile, Warren Clay, who did not get his wish, walked towards his friends."I heard your scream. Is there a problem?" Simon asked with a furrowed brow.Warren replied in an exasperated tone, "That snob said he didn't need money. Huh, what the hell? I've never even heard of his family name. 'Wood', what businessman with that name? I don't think there's any businessman with that surname.""That's true. But, seeing how he behaves, he's probably an idealistic person who's hard to work with, Warren," Leonard said after he took off his sweat-soaked shirt.Warren sighed in exasperation, then looked at his two friends. "Never mind, I don't want to talk about that jerk."The man looked depressed until Leonard said, "Calm down,
"Blimey, Wood. You're here, of course, to make us both more eager to compete," James retorted with his deadly grin.However, Riley Mackenzie did not seem to be affected. With a lazy expression, the young man said, "I'm not interested at all."James instantly put on a disappointed face, "Why is that? I haven't even mentioned the prize if you win from me Wood. You hurt me.""Don't talk so much! I don't need a prize anyway. Never mind, let's get it over with, James." Riley said as he turned to the match referee.James snorted in annoyance, but he still replied, "Fine. But, you lose. Just so you know."Riley ignored his words and instead nodded at the referee, indicating he was ready."James Gardner, are you ready?" the referee asked.James quickly adjusted his position and turned his head, "Yes, I'm ready."The unnamed referee said, "Okay. The rules remain the same, whoever manages to make their opponent cross the line and can't fight back wins."Riley and James nodded, understanding the
James did not reply to Riley's words and instead grinned widely. The next second, the young man who had hair slightly covering his eyes turned the tables by slamming Riley with unexpected speed.Riley was wide-eyed in shock but when James intended to use his right elbow to hold Riley, Riley managed to roll over and get up quickly.James stared with a surprised expression. "You're ...."James' words could not be finished because he saw Riley jump slightly and then lunged at him, knocking him down. Riley was breathing heavily looking at the young man who had confused him earlier.Blood dripped from James' nose as he looked at Riley, still with an expression that was hard to explain.There was shock, astonishment, awe and confusion all mixed together in James' eyes.But, he was even more surprised when Riley didn't attack him anymore. However, he chuckled, understanding why Riley had stopped attacking him."You beat me," James said in a strange tone while observing the floor where he had
Riley could feel that the bitter tone was also suffused with a deep sense of loneliness. Riley couldn't imagine not having a friend to chat with. He would definitely be very bored."Oh, don't show that pity face! I hate to see it," James said irritably when he saw Riley's expression.Riley shook his head, "But, it's also good that no one wants to be friends with you.""What do you mean?" James replied with a raised right eyebrow."That way of speaking of yours sometimes makes people's ears hurt, so it would be much better if you didn't have any friends around you, right?" Riley said casually.James snorted, but he smiled. He knew Riley was just trying to cheer him up. Uh, how was this? Because of Riley Wood's presence, he felt like having a friend. However, he didn't want to act rashly by asking Riley as his friend openly. He did not want to be seen as needing him too much.After about five minutes of walking, they had reached the palace medical centre. Riley nodded at a few prospec
Rowena was already looking rather weak, so Riley said softly, "Your Highness, please forgive me."After saying an apology which Rowena took as a request for permission to touch her, Riley took hold of Rowena's arm and he immediately brought her to the edge of the pool.It was not too difficult for Riley to lift her up because Rowena's body was quite light. The maids immediately helped and surrounded their princess just as Riley was about to climb up. At the same time, a servant ran over along with a bodyguard. Behind her was a man in a white uniform who was also running in that direction."Quickly, Doctor!" a servant shouted loudly.The young doctor quickly checked on their princess.Riley couldn't see what the doctor was doing. Too many servants surrounded the princess and soon the guards had arrived. Riley looked drenched but no one seemed to care about him. In fact, people seemed to forget that there was an aspiring soldier who had saved the king's daughter.However, Riley didn't
Riley also heard Diego's words but he preferred to drink his hot chocolate and ignore Diego. James who was munching on his fries stopped chewing them in his mouth, "What happened to the king's daughter?" "Princess Rowena almost died by drowning. Near the pond, not far from the palace health clinic," Alen explained enthusiastically but there was a hint of curiosity on his expression as well.Instantly James turned to Riley, "So, that's why so many servants and soldiers were there?"Riley still did not want to respond, while Alen immediately asked, "You know about it? Were you around?"James nodded, "I don't know what happened but I was around there. With Riley."The young man once again turned to Riley who was still concentrating on his hot drink."Wood, you saw it too, right?" James asked."Really? Come on, tell us!" Alen said excitedly.Diego also said, "How did she drown there? Wasn't anyone watching her? And those servants? They-""Stop it! Do you think Wood is a tree that witness
"I'll find out," James said and he stood up immediately.However, as if Alen knew that James would do something against the rules, the young man immediately restrained his arm, "Sit down, please!"James wanted to break free but unfortunately Alen's grip was too strong so he was forced to actually sit back down. His face instantly displayed an expression of annoyance at being restrained."I know what you're going to do," Alen said as both of his hands still held James' right arm.James clucked his tongue, "Huh? If you know, why are you holding me back? Just let me follow them and we'll find out what's going on."Diego threw a French fry at James' face.James scowled, "You ... how dare you!""Of course I dare, why not?" Diego replied as he gave James a challenging look.James said, "If this wasn't a place to eat, I'd have punched you again, Greco."Diego smirked, "You? Punched me? You can't do anything now, Gardner. Look at the state you're in!"James turned to Alen. Alen sighed, "I just
Hearing the new war general's question, Xylan Wellington laughed awkwardly.It was a laugh that didn't really come off, in fact, it sounded so strange that it made anyone who heard the viceroy's laughter confused.Reiner also looked at Xylan with a strange gaze while James did not even blink. The look in his eyes showed a demand.A demand for an explanation from Xylan regarding what he had just said.When he saw that urgent questioning look, Xylan finally stopped laughing. He cleared his throat softly before saying, "Hm ... I know from the main soldier.""The main soldier?" James repeated as he frowned.Xylan gulped and smiled clumsily, "The king's court soldiers, General Gardner."Oh, that wasn't really what James meant. He knew without even asking that the main soldiers were the palace soldiers specifically assigned to escort and guard him.There were usually five of them and one of them was required to stay by his side
James Gardner remained silent, giving no clear answer to Reiner's question.An immediate anxiety struck the ground war commander. Not wanting to be ignored by James, Reiner asked again, "James, tell me. Are you going to stay in the palace? You're not going to leave, right?"He looked anxiously at James who was staring out the car window. However, after he waited patiently enough he finally heard James answer, "I don't know."Reiner's heart was like being hit by a rock instantly."So ... are you leaving?" the man asked in a tone that sounded disappointed."It depends."Reiner, who was still staring at James, raised an eyebrow, looking confused, "Depends on what?"James sighed softly, "It depends on King Xylan's answer."Reiner was getting more and more confused. However, he did not have time to ask further as the car they were in had already entered the main gate of the Ans De Lou Royal palace. Even so, Reiner still did not want to give up so easily so he continued to stick to James e
At first Michelle Veren didn't understand what James Gardner was asking. However, when she saw the look on the general's face, she immediately knew he meant the time of the departure of the three people they were looking for.So, the Veren boutique owner replied, "About an hour ago, General Gardner."Hearing that answer, Reiner immediately went limp. But, it was inversely proportional to James who was even full of enthusiasm. This could be seen from James who even said, "Come on, Rei. Let's go after him."Reiner looked sadly at his best friend and replied, "It won't catch up, James. It's been too long."James did not even listen to Reiner's words and ordered some of his men, "Prepare the car, let's go after them!""James," Reiner called softly.James ignored the call and kept saying to his men who were still quietly waiting, "Find out through the CCTV which area they are currently in. They ... should be visible if they take the highway from behind this building."Reiner bit his own
Unfortunately it was all too late for the young girl to realize. All the words of the girl named Alice Porter were clearly heard by Reiner Anderson and James Gardner.With a dark look on his face, James said, "Miss, you-""No, no. I just misspoke, I ... I don't know anything. You heard me wrong," Alice said, whose face paled even more. Especially when she saw the aura of James Gardner, the terrifying war general, she found it even harder to breathe.Reiner also could not help himself so he said in an exasperated tone, "Tell me everything you know or you ... will know how terrible it is when you face the two of us.""I don't care if you are a woman. I can still find a punishment that you deserve," Reiner continued coldly.Alice swallowed harshly. Of course the young girl was very confused. Moreover, no one was trying to help her at all. All the employees in the boutique looked so frightened that no one dared to open their mouths."Say it now! We don't have much time, Miss!" James gro
James' question immediately made Reiner silent for a few moments. He stared at the boutique with a confused look on his face.Meanwhile, James didn't want to waste any more time so he wordlessly walked towards the boutique owned by Michelle Veren, a forty-year-old female designer who was quite famous in the country.Reiner didn't just stand by and do nothing, lamenting his inaccuracy. He followed James with a small trot right behind James without a word.As soon as James was faster than him to reach the door, he immediately saw the two boutique guards who opened the door for them."Can I help you?" one of the boutique guards asked James."I'm looking for Princess Rowena. Where is she now?" James asked back matter-of-factly as he darted his eyes all over the first floor of the boutique.Although there was a suspicion rising in James' mind, the young man put his anxiety ahead of his suspicion."You're looking for Princess Rowena? Who are you? You-""James Gardner. Royal War General Ans
Reiner Anderson did not answer James' question. Instead, he had a facial expression that looked both hesitant and confused.Of course, that made James Gardner even more annoyed. "Come on, tell me quickly! What's so strange about Princess Rowena?" James urged, impatiently.Reiner swallowed and scratched his ears before answering, "Well, I'm not sure if this is strange to you. But ... I think it's very strange, James."James gritted his teeth in growing annoyance and impatience.Luckily, he didn't need to ask anymore as Reiner added, "So, according to reports she went outside the palace."Hearing Reiner's answer, James snorted rudely. "What's so strange about that? I know she often goes outside the palace."Reiner sighed softly, "Indeed. But, this time ... a few hours ago, she left without a bodyguard. And she ... left with their son, Prince Kharel."Instantly James glared in shock, "What? Are you ... sure?""Yes, James. She just-""How is that possible? King Xylan ... didn't forbid he
Gary Davis did not answer Xylan's question. He just wore a pitiable expression. It instantly brought out the guilt in Xylan Wellington.Oh, no. What have I done? Did ... did I go too far in becoming suspicious of my own personal assistant? Xylan thought to himself as he stared at Gary's innocent face.The viceroy sighed softly. He went back to thinking hard. He tried to remember everything about Gary. He had never made a mistake, not once. He also never did anything suspicious all this time. Gosh, am I suspecting the wrong person? Xylan thought.However, he shook his head quickly as he realized something.But, wait a minute. It was James Gardner who suspected him. He couldn't have spoken carelessly. Otherwise, there was no way he could have been selected as the deputy war general. His instincts must be very strong that he has suspicions of Gary Davis, Xylan thought seriously.He then looked at Gary once more and finally nodded his head.He does look very innocent, but he could be h
Ben didn't know how he should respond to his friend's words, but all he could do was go over to James and pat him gently on the back repeatedly in an attempt to calm him down."He's really not coming back, Ben.""No, he's not. It's just-""He wouldn't give that kind of message if he didn't mean what he said," James cut Ben off.Ben sighed softly, "James, what I meant was ... he probably doesn't want to be looked for anymore because he wants to go back to the palace himself."Ben's words made James, who had been so frantic, straighten his back. The war general then turned to Ben and responded, "What do you mean?"Ben wasn't sure what he was thinking but he said it anyway, "I think ... he just wants to go home alone."James paused, trying to digest his friend's words."Tell you what ... how about we just go back to the palace, who knows if Riley might actually be home," Ben explained.Ricky and Steven Drilon were silent as they listened to Ben's words.They also didn't have time to reac
Ricky Drilon could only stare at the question.Oh, he often found himself in a confusing situation. But, he had never once felt depressed.Though he was also very often faced with a difficult choice. However, again, such things could be resolved well without any inner turmoil.However, one question asked by Riley Mackenzie put him in his most difficult phase. "Why are you doing nothing? Who are you going to obey? Me or General Gardner?" Riley repeated his question.Ricky swallowed harshly, getting more and more confused.His forehead was furrowed, clearly showing a great deal of indecision. He repeatedly smoothed his hair in just one minute. That made Riley smile strangely, "So, what? Who are you going to choose to obey?" Ricky bit his own teeth.How is this? What am I supposed to do? And why am I in this situation? Ricky thought.He looked indecisive, full of doubts. Riley himself looked very calm and relaxed at Ricky's confusion."Why aren't you answering me?" Riley asked with a