The Stonehearted Knight
Chapter 250: The Faction leaders

Chapter 250: The Faction leaders

The Endless Mountains parted the continent in two halves. Few could traverse it. The winding paths, natural mishaps, and deadly inhabitants tested the bravest and the strongest.

But somewhere in the mountains existed a city built by humans. They carved the massive rocks and shaped them into buildings, walls, streets, and whatnot.

Its location and sturdiness made the city almost impenetrable. This city didn’t have many natives. Most came from all over the world. But not just anyone could gain entry. Only those chosen were allowed in. Chosen to be part of the Warlords.

Unlike the other factions, the requirement to join the warlords was pretty easy. A candidate needed to love battle, be crazy, and reach the city alive. Oh, and they needed to fight their way in. Even then, the members didn’t wish to make things hard. So they stationed the shops selling ale and wine at the entrance.

According to the person who suggested this, it would turn every fight into a brawl, and the newcomer could slip in. A lot of members agreed. Honestly, if a person couldn’t survive a brawl with drunk battle-crazy killers, were they even worth their time? No. It was one of the few times the entire faction agreed on an answer.

Day or night, the city never knew peace. Battles and brawls were the norm. Sitting on top of a spire, the leader of the Warlords looked at the golden sky. Her red hair fluttered in the wind as she gulped the ale from a barrel.

She ignored the curses and noises somewhere down. She simply sat drinking. After some time, she stood up, took a sharp breath, and then...shouted. From the top of her lungs.

"TIME FOR A CITY BRAWL. YOU ALL CAN TEAM UP. IF YOU HIDE, I WILL FIND YOU. WHETHER YOU ARE SLEEPING, EATING, SHITTING, OR SCREWING. I WILL FIND YOU. I WILL HIT YOU."

Her voice blasted through the city like a hurricane sweeping through a field. Shouts, cries, and murmurs all erupted all over the city.

The red-haired woman grinned. The golden sky brought a change in Fate. Unable to change it, she decided to enjoy this peace before things ended. Looking up, she jumped down.

She dreaded the times to come. She hoped to save as many of her team as she could. She didn’t know how. Not yet. So, she decided to beat everyone up. Perhaps, she hoped, breaking some bones burnt a light in her mind. And if not...well, she would have had some fun.

...

A man stared at the golden sky. The gold lit up the sky and added a luster to his pristine golden armor. His shoulder-length, wavy brown hair stood immaculate in the blowing wind.

He lowered his gaze and looked at his city below. White and gold ruled everywhere. Even the night sky couldn’t hide the purity the city radiated.

The city was silent. He disciplined his citizens to follow law and order above all. Knights clad in silver armor patrolled the city.

Even the poorest corner of the city lacked dirt and trash. He wouldn’t tolerate tardiness from anyone. Everyone knew that. They loved and feared him. He was just and harsh. To others but even more to himself.

Witnessing the change in Fate, he remained calm. He turned and stepped into his bed. His wife, one of them stirred, but he took her in his arms, putting her to ease. The other five continued to sleep. With them around, he didn’t fear any change. He welcomed it. As he glanced at the eight pillow, he smiled. It seemed he would soon find his seventh wife.

As the head of the Paladins, he couldn’t stand his seventh sword missing from his side. With his seven swords, he could stand against Heaven itself. Fate would serve him.

...

"I knew you would sense it too."

A lady with beauty and purity that transcended the limits of the mortal plane, stood at the top of the Golden Dome.

The deity didn’t have a lot of exposure to many things since his birth but he liked her voice. It stirred emotions in him that grounded him in his mortal body.

In the little time he spent with the Altar, he learned she was a steady, calm, and powerful figure. As the head of the Temple and the Templars, she held a lot of power. Even as a deity he feared her. She was a human capable of killing a deity. If they still existed.

The deity, living inside Gorge’s body, still needed time to adjust having human emotions. He couldn’t ignore them. And he didn’t dislike having them. Aside from now and then. Like now.

Seeing the tears in the Altar’s eyes disturbed him. They both knew what it meant. A change in Fate. A change never happened without chaos. Usually, the chaos came first, and the change followed. This time, the change occurred first. Some might argue that the chaos might not come at all. But he couldn’t hold false hope. Not when his deity blood screamed that the chaos would be bigger than ever before.

The Altar, despite not having the divine inheritance in her blood, should know this. She understood Fate more than anyone in this world. Even more than him, a deity. So, why was she crying? Why was she shedding tears...of joy?

Without looking at the deity, the Altar seemed to have understood his puzzlement.

"This isn’t a simple change in Fate. This is Fate itself changing. You won’t understand. Heavens revealed this day ages ago. Soon, you will understand. The glory of Heaven will finally be higher than that of the gods."

She cried again. Smiling. Crying. It was hard to understand. But the deity experienced new emotions seeing this side of hers. He shivered...in fear.

...

Hex stared at the golden sky. His heart thumped wild inside his chest. He didn’t know how but he knew such dense golden light would spell trouble.

It made his senses tingle. Tingle, almost so hard it did hurt.

The only ray of hope amidst this blinding golden light seemed to be the struggle the King and Queen faced. They pulled Space and Time, trying to bind the Crown Prince with the golden beam.

He focussed hard. He believed this to be the best time to launch an attack on them. He didn’t consider the difficulty of the situation. It didn’t matter. It was a battle. And there wouldn’t be a better time than this.

Hex, in his extreme focus, and despite his enhanced senses, didn’t notice Althea. She was on her knees. Shivering, struggling, and biting her hands.

Only the Queen noticed the thin branches separating from the golden beam, growing towards her.