?Karyk spent another night secluded in his room, his actions shrouded in mystery. It wasn't until the following morning that he emerged, catching the attention of the Puppet Master once again.
Even the Puppet Master couldn't comprehend if it was a mere misconception, but he couldn't shake the feeling that Karyk had grown even stronger. It was an intangible sensation, lacking any concrete evidence to support it.
Driven by curiosity and a sense of being overshadowed, the Puppet Master knew he had to uncover the truth behind Karyk's nightly activities.
This familiar feeling of being suppressed reminded him of the time he stood before the sole survivor of the Celestial Dynasty.
"Are you going to keep staring at me?" Karyk questioned, briskly passing by the Puppet Master.
While Karyk desired seclusion to fully grasp his newfound knowledge, he also understood the implications of disappearing at such a critical juncture.
It could potentially disrupt his plans and send the wrong message to the townspeople. He had made a promise to them, to create his own army.
Simultaneously, Karyk had to find a way to contact Aliac and the others back in his own world, informing them of their plans so they could prepare accordingly.
Lost in deep contemplation, he left the palace, aware that he could find a portal to return to his world. However, the predicament was in returning to this world.
All the portals leading to this place were in disarray. The portal that previously took him to the forest now transported him to the sea, on the complete opposite side of this realm. If he attempted to return for the third time, he couldn't even be certain where he would land.
If fortune favored him, he would find himself in close proximity to this city. However, if he ended up in the Royal Capital, matters would become considerably more complicated. Every moment held immense significance, and time was of the essence.
Karyk knew that he couldn't waste any more time trying to find a way back to his own world. He needed to focus on building his army and strengthening the city's defenses.
With a composed look on his face, he made his way to the training grounds where the citizens were already gathered.
At first, only a few people had applied to guard the city but after the last night, that number had greatly surged.
Not just the training arena but even the areas surrounding it were completely filled with the waves of people. It didn't matter if it was a young person or old. It didn't matter if it was a man or a woman. All of them wanted to become stronger.
They were all burning with desire to become stronger. None of them wanted to lose any more of their dear ones because they were weak. They wanted to be strong enough that not even the Purebloods could look down on them.
Many of them had already started going through training. They had seen how the previous city guards used to train. Most of them were following the same movements while training, as if they didn't want to waste even a single second.
On the other hand, the rest were looking around, waiting for the City Lord to arrive and guide them.
As Karyk observed the training, he realized that the people lacked proper weapons and equipment. And that was just the least of their worries.
Although many were following the training methods of previous City Guards, it was just a crude training. With just this level of training, they couldn't rise above the rest.
They needed to strengthen themselves. But before that, they needed equipment that could be used by them to protect themselves.
Karyk could see that he had a lot of work to do to make his plan succeed. And the most important part of it all rested on the Celestial Queen's shoulders.
For now, Karyk made it his priority to gather resources and forge weapons and armor for his citizens. With that, he could give them initial confidence. Only after they were confident enough could they dare to follow him to the hellish training he had planned for them.
As the people noticed his arrival, they cleared the path for him, moving out of his way. A path was created to the center of the training arena. Even the ones who were training had stopped, turning their attention to him.
However, Karyk didn't walk to the center of the Arena. Instead, he walked in the air, standing above them all so they could see him clearly. With this, he also gave them an impression of his strength.
"I'm quite pleased that you're all this motivated to become stronger. And I haven't forgotten my promise either. But before you start training, I have two things to finish. First is that I want to remove the physical restrictions on your bodies that came through your mixed bloodlines!"
"As for the second, you'll see it very soon. For now, I want you all to gather outside my Palace, forming a line so that we can begin the first step of your rise!" he told the citizens as he flew back to the palace.
He assigned the puppet master to make sure that these hundreds of thousands of people came in a line, since he didn't want things to take longer.
Although the Puppet Master didn't like following instructions, he did as he was told as it was the instructions of the Celestial Queen as well.
He made sure that there was a proper line made, leading to the City Lord's Palace.
Meanwhile at the entrance of the Palace, the Assassin was standing in a guard's attire, carrying a sharp sword on his back.
As the citizens started reaching the Palace, the Assassin made sure to send them in one after another.
None of the citizens knew if they could actually become stronger. But even if it was a distant chance, they wanted to try.
The first person to enter the Palace was an old man, whose son was a warrior for the City. His son had died protecting the City Lord's Palace. Until now, the old man felt empty.
