The Ashen Dominion
Chapter 99 - Three

Chapter 99: 99 - Three

Kaiser woke up early in the morning, just like always.

"Fuuuuuuuuuuck..."

The first thing he did was sit up, take a deep breath, and start his light morning exercises.

Push-ups, sit-ups, stretching, and a short round of shadow swings with his greatsword. It wasn’t anything intense, just enough to warm his muscles and get his body ready for another long day.

...

Then after finishing his morning routine, Kaiser left his room and walked outside, it was time for breakfast.

On his way there, he saw Viktor leaning lazily against a wall, arms crossed, clearly waiting for him. Without saying anything, the two of them started walking together to get their portions.

Soon—

"Hup!"

"Haaaaa..."

They sat down at their usual bench with plates of simple breakfast in hand—bread, boiled eggs, and some kind of thick porridge. They quietly ate, not talking much. The air was still cool, and the surroundings hadn’t fully woken up yet. It was quiet.

But just then—

Tap- Tap- Tap—

Tap- Tap- Tap—

Tap- Tap- Tap—

Footsteps approached them.

"...?"

"Hm?"

And when they looked toward the source of the sound—

"..."

They saw Edmar, walking toward them with a calm look on his face. And right behind him were three other gladiators.

Kaiser and Viktor hadn’t talk to them before.

Now, however, it seemed like things were changing.

Tap.

Edmar stopped in front of them, standing with his arms behind his back like a commander.

"..."

Kaiser and Viktor just looked at him, waiting for him to say anything.

Then soon, opening his mouth—

"The three of them will be joining the organization."

Edmar announced that with a calm face! His tone was monotone, but his expression screamed smug satisfaction.

"Huh?"

"...?!"

Kaiser and Viktor blinked.

They looked at each other for a brief second, then back at Edmar.

"Whoa, really? That’s great. I don’t know what to say."

Kaiser said, genuinely surprised.

"Thanks for doing that."

"Yeah, I didn’t expect you to have them three join us this fast."

Viktor followed, nodding his head.

Hearing their words, Edmar just casually shrugged his shoulders.

"It wasn’t hard. These three were part of my organization before. My first members."

He stated.

Kaiser raised an eyebrow at that, then looked at the three curiously.

At that moment—

Edmar gestured toward them.

"This is Leo."

He said, pointing to a tall man with sharp eyes and short, slicked-back hair.

"He was my right-hand man."

Leo nodded with a casual smirk.

"And these two—"

Edmar continued, gesturing to the other two.

"Niko and Yuwa. They were founding members."

Niko was wide-shouldered, darker-skinned, and had a sharp jawline. Yuwa, meanwhile, had a calm aura, with mid-length tied-back hair and a leaner frame.

Kaiser and Viktor stood up from the bench and extended their hands.

"Kaiser."

"Viktor."

They introduced themselves back.

And after that, they all shook hands.

The three newcomers had relaxed, open expressions. They didn’t seem fazed at all by the whole thing. Just chill.

Kaiser and Viktor was surprised by this. They thought the three would be like reluctant to join them,but it seems to be the opposite.

And as if reading what’s on their minds—

"I already explained everything to them about us beforehand. That’s why they’re not weirded about all of this."

Edmar declared that.

"Oh, thanks."

Kaiser looked at him and said. He can now feel Edmar’s experience in forming an organization.

Anyway, after their short introductions and stuffs—

They all sat back down on the benches, now all of them eating together.

Leo looked at Kaiser.

"So you’re the one who beat Edmar, huh?"

Kaiser blinked.

"I guess."

He casually declared.

"Damn."

Niko whistled.

"Didn’t expect Edmar to get beaten so soon."

"Yeah, you must be a prodigy to take down our entitled genius. And you’re just a kid, at that."

Yuwa joked. Well, he meant his words though.

The three of them chuckled.

Edmar... not so much.

"..."

He frowned, clearly not thrilled about the teasing, especially that he’s the target of it. But instead of retaliating, he just let it slide and continued eating.

’Whatever, I’ll just let them.’

And just like that, the six of them shared breakfast together, laughter and conversation quietly passing between bites.

*****

After breakfast, Kaiser and Viktor stood up and started preparing...

And now, they’re ready to head out to the training ground again.

They walked toward the gate that led to the outer section, intending to call for a guard to escort them. But before they could even open their mouths—

"Wait."

A familiar voice called out to them.

"Oh, it’s you again."

"Yo."

The two turned around and saw Edmar approaching once again.

"What is it?"

Viktor asked, tilting his head slightly.

Edmar stopped in front of them.

"I want to come too. To the training ground. I want to watch you two train."

Then he said that with a straight expression on his face.

"..."

"..."

There was a beat of silence. Kaiser and Viktor looked at each other.

Then, with casual shrugs—

"Sure."

"Let’s go then."

They just said that to Edmar. They don’t really care, to be honest.

Anyway, finally, after all that... The three of them left together for the training ground.

*****

Kaiser, Viktor, and Edmar arrived at the training ground after a short walk with two guards escorting them.

"It’s just the same where I usually go."

Edmar looked around, scanning the area. He was about to part ways with the two to train and find a spot to observe from a distance when—

TAP- TAP- TAP—

TAP- TAP- TAP—

TAP- TAP- TAP—

Three large shadows approached them.

"What the fuck...?"

Edmar immediately turned wary. He could feel the pressure closing in.

TAP!

The three men stopped in front of them, towering, broad-shouldered, and casually dangerous.

"...!"

Edmar got wary of them, he frowned and got ready to fight!

But then—

"Oh, you guys are here early."

Kaiser suddenly casually greeted the three bear-like men like it was nothing.

"Wha...?"

Edmar frowned.

"You know them?"

He asked.

Before anyone could answer, Viktor leaned in slightly and whispered to him, just enough for Edmar to hear;

"They’re Kaiser’s friends, they’re crazy strong."

Viktor mumbled.

And before Edmar could even react—

Kaiser turned to him, smiling.

"Let me introduce you. This is Brock, Khan, and Jin. They’re my friends."

He introduced the three, and after a short pause—

"And this is Edmar, he’s a new member, and also the Vice head."

He introduced Edmar to the three.

"Huh?"

"Vice head?"

"A new member...?"

Brock, Khan, and Jin looked at Edmar. They gave him one solid scan.

Then, after a short pause... All three of them suddenly smiled!

"Nice to meet you."

"Ah, you’re that wild dog that appeared in the Silver Rank a few months before."

"Yo, hello."

Khan. Brock. Jin.

Edmar froze.

He recognized the names.

His eyes widened slightly.

These weren’t just any fighters.

These were known monsters in the Silver Rank.

After all, if there are more than ten spots in the Gold Rank... Then the three of them are probably there now!

Also, the problem is— it’s full now and none of them are willing to accept challenges from Brock, Khan, and Jin!

’This brat knows this people...? And he’s close to them...?’

Edmar’s mouth opened slightly, but no words came out.

Kaiser just looked at him, calm and composed.

*****

Moving on, since they were all here to train... The six of them went and separated after greeting each other.

Kaiser immediately headed toward the weapon racks and picked up a wooden greatsword. He walked to the straw dummy area and started swinging calmly, warming up his body.

SLASH—

Then slowly, he began increasing his pace, practicing his form and control. Every slash was fast and precise. His goal today was to get more used to controlling his strength during extended battles, and to sharpen his fluidity with heavy weapons.

Not too far from him—Viktor, as usual, focused on legwork again.

"Ugh...!"

He started stretching his lower body, doing squats, lunges, and various kicking drills. Then he began running around the training ground a bit, focusing on speed bursts and directional changes.

As for Edmar...

"I’ll train a bit later."

He sat in one of the shaded corners of the training ground at first, just watching Kaiser and Viktor train.

But eventually, he grabbed a pair of wooden dual swords and began going through swift movement drills. He wasn’t just messing around—his form was polished, and every strike was calculated.

SWISH— FWISH!

He focused on agility and blade accuracy, darting between practice dummies, slashing their limbs and sides with clean, short strikes.

Meanwhile, Brock was off at the far back of the training field.

"HUP...!!!"

He was lifting boulders again—literally. He grabbed the biggest ones in the strength area, doing deadlifts, shoulder presses, and even some squats with them. The ground cracked a bit under him with each heavy lift.

"Doing this in this form is much better, let me help you."

Khan was moving between groups, correcting form and giving pointers to anyone who asked. He did his own training too, of course— shadowboxing, short sprints, and other else.

Jin? Still sitting on a bench, resting with his eyes closed. He was always like this actually, so none questioned it.

Then, after more than two hours passed...

"Lunch!"

A familiar voice echoed across the field. It was one of the guards. Everyone stopped what they were doing.

"Hufff..."

Kaiser wiped the sweat off his face with the back of his arm.

"Time to eat."

He muttered, walking toward the benches with Viktor with a tired look on his face.