"Crownwatch General, Calvin Ron," Charlotte said coldly. As she spoke, frost gathered along her palm and a sheen of ice crept across Calvin's arm where her hand had struck, crackling.
"Your response to our Captain has been noted. You started this; our Captain will end it, " she added.
The mention of Nexus sent a shiver down Calvin—not from fear, but from memory. It only fueled his fury.
"You are still too green if you think you can take me on," Calvin said, increasing the force in his hand. Charlotte's boots cracked the stone beneath as she stood her ground, not moving an inch.
"She might not be enough," Keeyah said, stepping forward with a bow already drawn. No one had seen where the weapon had come from. The arrowhead shimmered with red light—Wilder Force—that coiled around it like a serpent ready to strike.
Calvin's eyes narrowed. A marksman indeed.
At the same time, more soldiers appeared beside him, elites—radiating killing intent that caused the air to thicken. Marcus could barely stay upright under the weight of their combined pressure.
Keeyah and Charlotte were both getting ready to engage in battle. In fact, they seemed eager to fight, however, Marcus wanted anything but a battle today.
Suddenly, someone began laughing.
The laugh came with a wind that eased the pressure off Marcus. It was a familiar laugh.
Nexus's own.
His voice was coming from the medal in Marcus's hand.
As soon as the laugh stopped, and aura exploded from the medal, one so strong that it pushed the Crownwatch General and his men far away. Even those on the parade grounds weren't spared.
Some of them were knocked out by the aura, and some others remained conscious but utterly suppressed.
As for the Oasis members, they were fine, unaffected by the aura.
With a snarl, Calvin surged forward, letting his own aura erupt to clash with the phantom force. For a heartbeat, the world trembled—until the clash shattered the air with a thunderclap.
The void fissured around them as blood trickled down Calvin's lip.
"Intent?" Calvin whispered as horror flickered in his gaze. "Nexus… you've touched upon Intent?"
As though he could sense that immense danger would soon be heading his way, Calvin leaped back, putting over a hundred meters between himself and the Oasis team members.
With a sweep of his arms, Calvin summoned a gust that hurled his men clear of the impact zone.
Boom!
A massive fist-shaped crater split the ground, webbed with cracks.
"If I hadn't pushed my men back, you would have killed them. Nexus! Are you trying to rebel again?" Calvin roared out, however, deep down, his mind was filled with dread.
He had expected that Nexus had completed the Imperial Chancellor's condition, and had gotten stronger. But never did he imagine that this opponent of his hand grasped an Intent.
How else would he have been able to send his will through the medal?
A will becomes an intent, and an intent transgresses in its nature. It transcends.
"Rebel!?" Nexus's voice thundered through the barracks. "Who was it that tried to harm an Iron Marshal kid under my banner!? Who!" Nexus roared and it was as though thunder clapped again.
The air turned frigid.
His aura surged like an oncoming storm, spreading, and growing. The entire Western Mansion's Palace began to groan under its pressure.
"Shit!! How is it still growing strong! The caster isn't even here!" Calvin cursed out. He started regretting his previous decisions.
He knew that Nexus was baiting him, and yet, he had fallen for it.
The commotion was starting to get overhand, and soon, other auras came from corners of the Western Mansion Palace's barracks, quickly containing and even suppressing the aura coming from the medal.
"Ah, the others are waking up." Nexus, as if excited. "Good. You guys bullied my people and even attempted to harm them. This, including the debt you guys owe me, I will be coming myself to claim the interest."
The aura coming from the medal receded like a tide and vanished.
Silence filled the Western Mansion Palace's Barracks…
This isn't good. Calvin thought. Just when he thought of capturing Marcus and the rest to use as hostages, he realized that they were nowhere to be seen. They had left during the commotion.
"Damn it!" Calvin stamped the ground, causing an explosion the shot rocks into the air. "Contact the other Mansions, tell them that Nexus is back, and he's still angry. This time we'll need to deal with him together." Calvin directed to one of his men.
…
On the way back, Marcus passed out after coughing out a mouthful of blood. Before he passed out, his mind couldn't help but reminisce about the aura he felt coming from the medal. Even though it didn't suppress them, it still came with an unimaginable weight.
I want this type of strength. I want more power. He mused before passing out.
…
The return to the Eastern Mansion's barracks was far faster than the journey out.
Upon arrival, Marcus was rushed to the infirmary. His condition was dire, his bones were cracked, and his organs pressed to the brink, but the team's healer, Margret, had him stabilized within hours.
Margret was a quiet, frail-looking woman in her thirties, her brown hair tied in a neat bun beneath a lab coat. Despite her appearance, she was ranked among the squad's top ten—an expert not just in healing, but in reading people.
Nexus arrived in the infirmary and asked Margret how he was faring.
"The kid's strong… and interesting. Charley and Kee said he stood his ground." Margret turned and looked at her Captain. "They also said that you have grasped an intent."
Nexus only smiled and said; "We'll speak about this later. When would the boy be waking up?"
Margret sighed and looked at Marcus who was lying on a hospital bed. "Any moment from now. Do you want me to leave, or?"
"No, stay. Don't you want to introduce yourself to your junior brother?"