The snow jungles of Vahn County are a terrain where giant tropical-sized ferns and broad-leafed trees are coated in frost.
These forests were dense enough that seeing anything past ten feet ahead was impossible.
The ground had a thick layer of snow, and every step these three little children took could barely plough through the snow bed.
Guiding them were the three sworn Knights, who wore a pair of thick fur coats over armour, and had a broad sword hanging on their backs.
They were moving deep into the jungle territory, and their goal was to reach the cave created by the first count of Vahn.
For years, these children have heard the story of the guardian of the Count. But none could ever witness the beast in reality.
However, things were different today.
Mordrak Krell waged a war against his own County, and Vahns couldn’t even hold their grounds for two days.
They weren’t outnumbered; they were outpowered. Mordrak Krell is a Knight who so mistake for a transcendent. A warrior who can defeat peak clearance five mages in battle.
Along with him were several emanant ranked Knights, who waged a one-sided massacre against the mages of Vahn County.
These children did not directly witness their mages drop into submission, their knights being torn apart, and their father losing a battle.
But the knights guiding them did, and they know the horror that follows in the aftermath of the war.
Countess of Vahn stalled them for enough ti to make a run for it.
And now, they were heading towards a fiercer beast, who was the only guardian and known protector of the Vahns.
They need his help to get these children out of the County.
""""Haa--"""" Their tiny breaths were starting to feel like having frostbites in this chest.
"Just a little more, young lords," Galahad, a knight with long black hair and black eyes, spoke.
"Just a little more, and we’ll be able to et the Vahrkan." His words were baseless morals.
And he was aware of that. He didn’t know what Vahrkan looked like.
To him, Vahrkan is just a white tiger beast. Not a guardian. But even he has no choice.
They can’t wait and camp because the Knights of Krells are pursuing them.
Just then, Galahad sensed sothing. An extre force of condensed aura slash.
"Everyone, down!" He scread, and the other two knights following him held the children close and ducked to the ground.
*Krsh*
A silent vertical slash passed just above where their chests were, and cut down several trees around them.
Galahad flared his aura to create a deep pulse of air, so that the long trees wouldn’t fall in their direction.
Galahad was an Enant ranked knight himself. But he was new to this stage.
"Oh, WHY! Why do you have to make this difficult for us?" he heard a loud voice as he looked back.
A single knight erged from the dense fog of the forest.
He wore thick black woollen clothing with a golden wolf’s emblem.
The insignia of Krells.
"You’re a knight too, leave the children alone, let’s settle this as knights do, not bandits," Galahad spoke, and stood, gripping the broad sword on his back.
"I’m not here to kill the children, I’m just here to take them back to Duke, who is now the rightful owner of the County, and its Countess."
"Richard De Charny, war-strategist of the army of Krells," Richard spoke, and gripped his long sword from the hilt on his waist.
"I’m just following the orders, and... if the countess belongs to Duke now, it’s evident her children should be placed under the Lord’s will," He spoke.
"Careful..." Galahad said, looking at the remaining knights.
"He’s a gravitant," He spoke, and the remaining knights nodded.
[A/N: Gravitants are stronger than enants. They’re just one ascension away from transcendence.]
"I hate to have the blood of fellow knights on my blade," Richard said, tracing his fingers across the edges of his long sword.
"Then again, there’s no love in war, is it?"
Galahad tapped the pocket of his pants, and the remaining two knights glanced at that minor gesture.
The other two knights held the children in their arms and dashed with a burst of aura.
"Aih...You’re going to make work for it." Richard spoke, scratching the back of his head.
Galahad moved without a second thought. His sole motive was to buy as much ti as he could.
Enough for the children to reach the guardian.
And for that, he chose to stay behind.
But...
He swung his sword horizontally, with a dense aura coating the broad blade.
He poured all the montum and power into that one single swing. His stance was of a perfect tank.
*Clang-Tinng-*
That clash created a deep burst of snow and a high-pitched tal sound that shivered the forest.
Richard had blocked it with his long sword, and he was casually holding it with one hand.
Richard looked around at the damage done by the shockwave of their swords.
"Impressive," he murmured.
"But you depend on the weight and montum of your sword a lot..." He slashed his sword vertically, pushing Galahad a few feet away from him.
"A sword is not just a weapon, but an extension of your body. Your sword’s a little heavy for you, which is a liability," Richard spoke.
Galahad skidded on the snow bed. His arms trembled from the shockwave of Richard’s simple slash.
"I’ve studied n like you," Richard continued, stepping forward. "Newly ascended. Strong backs. Strong wills. You think endurance can bridge the gap between ranks."
Galahad tightened the grip on his sword.
Richard moved again, slashing diagonally.
*Boom*
The impact was dense enough to make Galahad fall on his knees as he blocked the strike.
His knees buckled, and blood trickled from the corners of his mouth.
"You trained your fellow knights well," Richard spoke, leaning close to Galahad’s blade.
"But all this running just buys them a few seconds," he said.
"Buying ti?" Galahad laughed dryly.
"Yeah, right," he chuckled.
"...?" Richard tilted his head in confusion and looked at him.
"We were buying ti, sure, but not to run." Galahad spoke and looked at Richard.
*Grrr...*
The ground trembled.
Richard and Galahad both looked around them; the broad half-cut trunks and the fallen leaves were shaking from the tremors.
*Thud*
*Thud*
*Thud*
*Thud*
*Thud*
With every step that creature took, the ground would tremble fiercely.
"Now...this is quite sothing," Richard mumbled.
The fog slowly settled down, and the air stilled across the jungle of Vahns.
In the far distance, standing taller than the trees, on all four of its muscular legs, was an enormous white tiger.
Its fur swayed with every step it took. And its eyes were deep ocean blue, which slowly drifted towards both of them.
"Vahrkan...has awakened," Galahad whispered, still looking at it.
’Ha...So the stories weren’t a lie...’ Galahad thought.
He smiled for once.
’There’s still a little hop-’
*-Stab-*
"Well, that complicates things a little," Richard stabbed his sword into the skull of Galahad.
Steel pierced Galahad’s forehead. His skull cracked with internal sound that Galahad felt in his sudden last monts.
Richard twisted his blade, breaking the bones and severing the matter of his brain.
Galahad’s body bucked, squird, his hands scrabbled at nothing as his eyes went wide.
His mouth worked soundlessly, as a raw surge of aura penetrated his skill.
Richard then increased the density of aura coating his blade, bursting Galahad’s head into a ss.
"Playti’s over," he said and crouched, contracting the muscles in his calves, and surging a significant amount of aura into his lower body.
*BOOM*
Then, in an instant, he disappeared with an extre shockwave that tore the ground he was standing on, clearing the bed of the snow.
.-.-.-.-.-.
"Thi-...is a guardian?" Nico, the youngest son of Count Vahn, was in utter shock.
He’d heard stories.
Stories about how their grandfather tad a mythological beast, but due to them being part of the Krells, the guardian of the Vahn was a property of the Krells, too.
"You tell ...you used to study a lot about him," Cole said, lying on the ground beside a narrow trench.
"..." Nicole, the eldest, had no words. He was called back from the academy because the situation suddenly turned dire.
He knows it more than both of his brothers that what their parents are about to go through is horrific.
But even he wasn’t aware that throwing a simple-looking wooden plaque in the trench could bring out a massive calamity to help them.
That tiger towered several ters, and it moved faster than normal-sized tigers.
Even being in his presence was suffocating, and every step he took was sending shivers down their spine.
Even if ranked as a calamity. In the end, it’s just a beast, not a demon. And that gravitant knight...he’s strong.
"Will that thing really take us out of here, Ser Jean?" Nicole asked, looking at the long-haired knight.
"..." Jean was silent for a while.
"There’s nothing we can do but wait, My Lord," Jean replied.
But even he himself wasn’t sure of anything.
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