The Ashen Dominion
Chapter 91 - Join Me [2]

Chapter 91: 91 - Join Me [2]

"...What? Are you stupid?"

Edmar asked with a deep frown on his face after hearing Kaiser’s words.

"I don’t think so."

Kaiser just shrugged.

Edmar clicked his tongue and shook his head.

"You’re definitely wrong in the head."

He muttered. And before Kaiser could even respond—

"Why would you even invite me? We were enemies not too long ago."

He added with a sharp tone.

Kaiser looked at him straight in the eye, unwavering.

"That had already passed."

His tone was calm, but firm. Then, after a short pause, he spoke again.

"Also, don’t you remember what I told you at the end of our fight? You’re strong. You’ll be a big help for my plan."

Edmar frowned deeper. He vaguely remembered those words—spoken just before Kaiser smashed the flat of his greatsword against his head, knocking him unconscious.

"..."

He didn’t say anything. Not that he can think of something to say.

’He’s serious about that, huh.’

Edmar thought to himself, seeing the calm look on Kaiser’s face. Then, before he could even say or do anything—

"Here."

Fwish~

Kaiser suddenly handed him the dual swords. The same ones he used in their fight.

Fwip—

"Huh?"

Edmar was confused, instinctively taking them. His grip tightened slightly out of habit.

"You don’t need to answer right now. I’m not forcing you or whatever. It’s fine whenever you accept or not, I just thought it’d be nice to have you."

Kaiser shrugged, as if the offer wasn’t that big of a deal. Then, without waiting for a response— he turned around.

"Later."

He casually said that, before walking back to his room and closing the door behind him with a soft thud.

Thud-

Now, Edmar stood alone in there.

"..."

He looked down at the swords in his hands.

Then, he looked at Kaiser’s closed door.

"...That kid is weird."

He mumbled under his breath.

(He’s twenty years old. Just three years older than Kaiser lol.)

(Kaiser is about to turn 17 years old.)

...

...

*****

"It would be nice if he joins."

Kaiser whispered under his breath as he stepped back into his room. He closed the door behind him and made his way to the bed, where he sat down with a tired sigh

"Fuuuuuuu..."

His mind replayed the earlier moment with Edmar.

’He’d be a solid addition.’

He thought. Reliable, powerful, and talented. That’s exactly the kind of person he needed for what he was planning.

’Once the other groups catch wind of what I’m doing... they’ll definitely turn their eyes on me.’

Kaiser frowned at the thought.

’In the worst-case scenario...’

"I and the others would be targeted by them."

That possibility made his brows furrow deeper. It wasn’t a far-fetched assumption. In fact, he was pretty sure it was inevitable.

But then—

"...Whatever. I can worry about that later."

He forced his thoughts away with a shrug of his shoulders.

He crossed his legs and slowly transitioned into a lotus sitting position on the bed.

Then, closing his eyes and exhaling deeply—

"[Intimidation]."

S W O O S H~!

A wave of invisible pressure pulsed out of him. He began training again, but now it was his skill.

As his mind steadied into focus, thoughts of Brock and the others surfaced.

’I wonder how they are doing now...’

He quietly thought to himself, the room silent but for the faint hum of his skill.

...

...

...

Kaiser trained his skill for a few hours straight... Then suddenly—

GRRRR~

His stomach growled. Loudly.

"Hm?"

He glanced down at it and let out a quiet sigh.

’Guess it’s dinner time.’

Without wasting another second, he pushed himself up from the bed. He stretched his back with a soft grunt, then walked over to the door.

CREAK—

With a creak, he stepped out into the hallway.

"..."

Outside, he saw Viktor— and the four other gladiators living in the Silver Place.

Edmar was standing with the trio on the opposite side, casually leaning against the wall. Viktor, on the other hand, had just stepped out of his room too.

"Yo."

Kaiser turned to him and gave a small nod.

Viktor nodded back.

"Yo."

And with that, the two of them made their way to the front gate.

Ahead of them, servants were already moving into position, trays in hand, preparing to distribute their dinner.

*****

Viktor and Kaiser ate dinner together, sitting side by side like usual. They only have each other in this place, after all.

Anyway—

Just like yesterday, their food was packed with meat—thick cuts of roasted beef, a whole boiled egg, mashed potatoes, and a hot cup of broth.

They didn’t say much while eating, only letting out the occasional grunt of satisfaction. Both of them were too hungry, too worn out from the day’s training to waste energy on small talk.

Their bodies ached, but the food made it bearable.

Then not far from them... Edmar sat with the other three gladiators.

They ate quietly, but from time to time, Edmar’s eyes would drift toward Kaiser. A faint frown formed on his face each time, as if he was trying to figure something out.

Viktor eventually noticed it.

"What’s up with that guy?"

He asked, nudging Kaiser slightly with his elbow.

Kaiser just shrugged while chewing.

"No idea."

Viktor blinked, then snorted.

"Whatever."

It didn’t really concern him, so he just brushed it off and kept eating.

After a while...

They finished their dinner and stood up, stretching their arms out. The two exchanged short goodbyes before heading back to their rooms.

"Same time tomorrow?"

"Yeah."

They were talking about the time they’ll go to the training ground.

And after that, they each went their separate ways.

...

Kaiser returned to his room.

He took a moment to breathe, then sat down cross-legged on the floor. He closed his eyes and began channeling his skill—

"[Intimidation]."

S W O O S H~

A quiet pressure filled the air around him. He trained the skill in complete silence for a while, his face focused, unmoving.

But just as he was starting to find a rhythm—

Knock- knock-

A guard’s voice came from the other side of the door.

"Hey, someone is looking for you. Says it’s Rai."

He simply said.

Kaiser stood up when he heard that and opened the door.

"Thanks."

He muttered when he saw the guard outside.

Then, he met up with Rai near the gate.

As usual, Rai had a friendly smile on his face and a paper bag in hand.

They chatted briefly. Rai asked about his progress, Kaiser gave short but honest answers.

After a while, Rai handed him his daily protein supply, the usual two roasted chicken breasts.

And after saying their goodbyes— Rai turned back and left, and Kaiser returned to his room again.

...

...

Once he was back in his room—

Kaiser didn’t sit down this time. He immediately eat the two chicken breasts.

SWISH~

Following that, he lifted his greatsword and gritted his teeth!

"Let’s keep going..."

And with that, he began swinging—training once more!

...

...

SWOOSH—!

SLASH!

WHOOSH~!!

Kaiser swung his heavy weapon until there was nothing left in him.

His arms trembled. His grip loosened. Each breath that came out of his mouth and nose was hot and shallow.

"Haaaaaaah... haaaaaaaa... haaaaaaah..."

Sweat poured down his face, neck, chest—dripping like rain from the tip of his chin.

His chest rose and fell rapidly, like it was struggling to keep up with the beating of his heart.

Thump— thump— thump—

His vision had started to blur around the edges.

So finally, he placed his greatsword down, leaning it against the wall. It made a dull thud as the weight settled.

Fwish~

Kaiser grabbed his shirt from the side, used it to wipe off the sweat clinging to his body.

Of course he didn’t put it back on. It was too wet and dirty now.

So while he was still shirtless, he dragged himself to the bed and laid down flat.

PAT—

"..."

His eyes stared up at the ceiling—at the ugly, uneven rock above his head.

He didn’t think about anything.

His body was too tired for that.

And before he even realized it...

He had closed his eyes.

"..."

Not long after, sleep took him because of how exhausted he was.

...

...

*****

The next morning, Kaiser woke up early and immediately started his routine—

He began with light exercises and stretches, warming his body up before the real grind began.

After that, he had breakfast with Viktor. The two ate fast, not wasting time—like always.

Then, once they were done, they headed to the training ground together.

...

...

As usual, when they arrived, they split off without a word, each going to their preferred training area.

...

Kaiser made his way back to the section with the training dummies.

’Oof, I hope they don’t make me pay for this one.’

He thought. The one he used yesterday was still busted, so he stood in front of a new straw dummy, gripping a blunt iron greatsword.

"Okay, let’s start."

Kaiser let out a breath to focus himself. He stretched his arms a bit.

Though, just as he was about to start—

"That’s my place, kid."

A deep, gruff voice came from behind him.

"...?"

Kaiser frowned. He turned around, ready to argue.

’Who the fuck—?’

But when he saw the man’s face—

"Huh?"

He froze in surprise.

"...!"

The man’s brows furrowed for a second—then he blinked in confusion.

"Huh?"

They both spoke at the same time.

They recognized each other!

And opening his mouth...

"Brock!"

Kaiser exclaimed that, a grin breaking on his face.