"My lord… Lord Marwayne…" Someone nudged his arm.

Annoyed, Marwayne opened his eyes. He took some time before he regained his blurred vision's focus, and the familiar butler's face appeared before him.

"Why is it you again." Marwayne hiccupped and expended a great deal of strength to stand up, accidentally knocking over the wine bottles on the short table, one of which fell to the ground and shattered loudly.

The sound jolted him awake.

What came next was a splitting hangover.

Marwayne was up the entire night till the wee hours of four to five in the morning impressing ladies into drinking with him until he knocked out on the coach. Marwayne squinted his eyes and looked upon the soft couch by the side. There were all sorts of beverages and other fluids sprinkled all over the couch, while the fireplace that had lasted through the entire night produced an unpleasant smell. The ladies from the night before had long disappeared, obviously lacking when it came to their ability to serve.

h.e.l.l, how did I end up sleeping here last night?

"Burn it." Marwayne wiped away the drool on his face and moved into a more comfortable position, alleviating his headache. "So, my distinguished Butler, what bad news do you have for me today Which knight fled or did men from Graycastle enter Everwinter?"

"I do not dare, my Lord." The butler immediately bowed his back lower. The initiative to attack the Graycastle teams was his idea, and he did not want to have the lord target redirected at him. "The men from Graycastle are still fighting the demons at the Kingdom of Wolfheart. They will not be able to enter Everwinter in the short term, please do not worry about it—"

"Heh, doesn't that just mean it's a matter of time?" Marwayne interrupted him, his alcohol breath a.s.sailing his own nose. "There hasn't been any reinforcements to the demon forces all this while. Even that so-called Sky Lord has disappeared without a trace. Anyone can clearly see that the situation has changed, so what's the use in consoling me?"

"No, my Lord—"

"Listen!" Marwayne growled. "I know what you want to say: pull yourself together, don't give up—You saw it for yourself, despite us holding the same weapons, our people were still utterly defeated by Graycastle. What does that say? It means that the disparity isn't with the lords, but the lowest rung troops, and their people! They dared to confront firearms head-on, but what about us? We only dared to cover our heads and sneak away like rats!

"How many people are there left in King's City? Viscount Narnos? No, his territory should now earn him the t.i.tle of a Count. Duke Remy? Half of his family are in Everwinter, he can't leave even if he wants to. And the other families… Indeed, they are still considered n.o.bles, but do they not want to leave! No!"

At this point, his tone suddenly reached a crescendo.

"They can't leave! They are unwilling to abandon their family property ama.s.sed through generations and start from nothing! So long as there is a way, they will not resign to their fates! But this will not happen for the knights I've recruited. The deed has no binding clauses, they can simply take their deeds and leave and come back after the war. So the only thing I can do is keep my doors closed and urge them to stay by inviting them over!

"This isn't about living in self-abandonment, much less about escaping, understand?" Marwayne picked up a bottle of wine in pa.s.sing and poured some into his mouth. "Once I honor the promise, they will immediately disappear! Since our subordinates and people cannot compete with Graycastle, then we can only rely on the demons. As long as they can defeat Roland Wimbledon, the people will once again settle down. When that moment comes, I will supply the deeds again. At that time, the knights will become my biggest help!"

"My Lord… I know that, but I need to inform you, the Sky—"

"Shut up, you know nothing!" Marwayne's voice went into a slight vibrato. "You think of me as weak, incapable, a drunkard that relishes in alcohol everyday. But the truth is not so, my plans have no flaws, the flaw lies in the demons who were defeated! If they can't even defeat Graycastle, what can I do by myself? It doesn't matter that the others leave, but even Fueler, someone I regarded so highly, has left, so what if I become the King of Everwinter? Why not drink more fine wine… After all, there won't be a chance in the future.

"So from now on, you need not report to me any bad news. It's sufficient that you know about them. Prepare more fine wine for me tonight, I remember that there are more stored in the underground storehouse beneath King's City, right? Now… Get out."

Marwayne buried his face in his hands and laid back down on the soft couch.

"My Lord, what I wanted to say was, his Excellency Sky Lord is currently waiting in the castle's parlor. He has a new decree for you." The butler finally found the opportunity to speak and quickly let everything out.

"Wh—what did you say?" Marwayne sat up. "The Sky Lord is here? Why didn't you say so earlier? Quick, prepare a basin of hot water for me. I will wash up and head over now!"

"There's no need." A low voice suddenly came out from the door's entrance. The two were startled and turned their heads, only to see a tall and blue skinned figure push the doors open and walk in.

It was Hackzord.

He took a look at the mess of empty alcohol bottles everywhere and revealed an unconcealed look of disdain. "And I thought you were being held back by something important. Looks like I've wronged you. Why, do you think that the outcome of this battle has already been determined?"

d.a.m.n it, he heard my rants! Marwayne immediately knelt on one knee and even thought of giving himself a slap. "No, Your Excellency, I was just—"

"In consideration of your knowledge and experience, I can pardon you this time. But there will not be a second time; otherwise, I will definitely cut your tongue out." Hackzord spoke coldly, "Our enemies did perform past our expectations in the early stages, but that was only then. In fact, their good days have come to an end, not only for the Kingdom of Wolfheart, Kingdom of Dawn or Graycastle. They will all be devoured by the flames of war; that is the fate of resisting us."

"Your Excellency Sky Lord, can I ask… is that true?" Marwayne was skeptical. He had long a.s.sumed Everwinter was finished, and was planning to beg a Demon Grand Lord for shelter. But from his words, the outcome of the battle was not too bad, at least not to the point of being irredeemable. Before, the demons thought that Graycastle would not last a single attack as well, so Marwayne did not entirely believe in Hackzord's words.

Hackzord sneered. "Your doubt is pardonable, but when you witness the power of my race, I believe that you will trust the weight of my words." With that said, he extended his hands and opened a bizarre purple light 'door.' "Follow me."

Marwayne gulped, bit the bullet, and entered the portal.

On the other side was yet another hall, and to Marwayne's surprise, he saw many familiar faces. For instance, Narnos and Remy.

Sky Lord had obviously gathered most of the Everwinter n.o.bles.

Before any questions were raised, the demon Grand Lord opened yet another portal.

His intentions were clearly self-evident.

Everyone looked at each other, before forming a long line in front of the portal.

The journey took an entire day.

Marwayne could not remember the number of portals he entered; the scenery around him would occasionally be a cave, or sometimes a mountain ridge. The further they went, the more unease he felt. Although he knew that it only required a thought from the demon to kill him, the forceful transportation to an unknown location made him feel even more afraid.

When nightfall came, the n.o.bles finally arrived at the final location.

The last portal behind them slowly disappeared. That was when Marwayne Parker opened his eyes abruptly!

"This is…"

He saw a miracle!

That's right, even if he used up all the words he could possibly think of, he was unable to accurately describe everything he saw. Aside from calling it a miracle, he could not think of anything else!

The other n.o.bles were not any better. All of them had their mouths wide open, speechless. None of them could even finish a complete sentence.

"Now, you have all witnessed it." Hackzord spoke up indifferently.