The sounds of two clashing swords could be heard all throughout a stone-paved yard. Small clumps of green weeds struggle for survival in between the cracks on the ground, only to get pitfully stomped on.

Both of the men fighting have various pieces of leather armor strapped to their bodies.White lines scarring the leather denoting the sheer strength of the strikes both men are inflicting on each other.

Hundreds of wooden fragments get thrown from their swords each time they clash, the stone under their feet breaking apart.

One of the men was extremely tall, reaching nearly 1.90 meters in size. Although his body shape was quite slender, each time his sword swung, it almost seemed like he separated the air in two, revealing that his body hid a frightening strength.

The other man, or more aptly, child, was trying his best to avoid the sword strikes, sweat pouring profusely from his brow. Even though he was only 1.67 meters in height, he was surprisingly able to keep up with the larger man, his movements sharp and just in time, like an elegant dance.

The youthful face of the child was stuck in a scowl, his eyes focused on nothing more than the movements of his opponent.

He was the only heir to the Redshield Dukedom, Jule Redshield.

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………

Jule 's arms hurt…

His legs hurt too…

As well as his chest....

Hell he could even say that his whole body was currently wracked in pain.

Yet he was barely even distracted by the pain. From the corner of his eye he spots the movement of a blade, he plants his feet into the ground and tries parrying the blade with all the strength in his core, barely succeeding.

Parn takes another swing, this time an overhead slash. Jule jumps sideways and uses the momentum to do a small spin and tries to crash his sword into Parn’s ribs. His sword is only welcomed by the sound of wood being struck.

“Fuck…”

His eyes wide open, Jule could only focus on Parn’s widening smirk. The overhead slash was a bluff, but Jule’s tired and battered mind slipped and he forgot to read the muscle movements of his enemy, resulting in him being tricked.

A thousand curses dominated Jule’s mind but he could only try his best to salvage the situation.

Parn used his shoulder to push Jule’s blade away, immediately holding his sword tightly against his side, about to make a piercing strike.

“Even if you no longer wanted to go to the academy, that doesn’t mean you should slack off!” Parn shouted a provocation and tigtened the muscles on his legs, dashing towards Jule, his sword pointed straight at Jule’s heart.

Try as he might, a memory couldn’t help but take over Jule’s mind, causing him to be distracted enough for the strike to land. As darkness overtook Jule’s vision, he could only hear Parn clicking his tongue.

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………

Jule was sat among many other young nobles, their clothes all similar in color, a mixture of red and white, the symbol of The Academy.

It was graduation day, all of the young nobles present had finished their elementary education, they were now above 70% of the population, having the ability to both read and write.

It was a very special day for everyone, seats were reserved for entire families, such as the one next to Jule.

The children were called according to their noble rank, once their names were called, they would walk down the stone stairs criss crossing the seating platforms and reach the stage, shaking hands with all the deans of education and taking their diploma.

The child of the baron family who sat close to Jule was called, the mother, dressed in a blue netted dress, was trying her best to clear her tears with a handkerchief, smudging the light makeup she had on her face.

The father of the child, a military man in full regalia, was watching his son grab his diploma, a wide smile present on his face,his fingers lightly tapping on the hilt of his sheathed sword. Probably impatient to try a spar with his son.

In the Academy, baronets would only learn to read and write, the reason being that they were destined to be the assistants to higher nobles, maybe even average knights.

However, from barons and upwards, children were taught swordsmanship, tactics, horse riding and political debate. The Academy could not teach Body or Mind cultivating methods as those were the personal property of the specific families.

“Mommy!, Daddy!” As the child finishes walking back to the stands, he is smoldered in hugs by his mother and harsh pats on the back by his father.

“I’m so proud of you baby!” The mother tries her best not to cry, but small tears spill out of her face. Her face was shining, as if she was holding the most valuable jewel in the world.

“Don’t call me baby!, I am already 12 years old!” The child pouts, the mother could only giggle and the father exploded into a boisterous laugh.

Jule’s eyes are enraptured by the scene, feeling a dryness in his throat and a numbness in his chest. He tries to ignore the scene, fighting back these weird emotions, yet it is not unique.

All around Jule, families are gathering together,congratulating their children. Those without fathers or mothers being accompanied by their other family members. Jule’s heart begins palpitating, a burning feeling rising up from his depths, from the mixture of emotions, Jule’s face turns weirdly amusing.

Some families arrive a bit late, rushing to their seats and sighing in relief, each time one of these families arrive, Jule looks back hope shining in his eyes…

The graduation goes as planned, and it isn’t long before Jule’s turn arrives. Being the heir of the ArchDuke, means he outranks every single person here, even the adults, and consequently more is expected of him.

In order to not let down the Redshield name, Jule had taken optative classes in scroll-crafting and cultivation-modifying, hoping to receive the praises of his father once the man knew.

All he received was the praises of the Head Dean and two extra papers.

….

The graduation was generally followed by a ball, where all the nobles celebrated the graduation of their heirs. While not as important or as grandiose as the Banquet, which introduced nobles to the entire Kingdom, it was a very important event nonetheless.

Jule didn’t feel much inclination to go though, prefering to take the carriage back to the Redshield Dukedom, and prepare himself for the birthday celebration he is planning.

Even though all students would have to return to the Academy, in order to finish rounding off their studies, it would only be for one more year, they had basically finished off everything important.

Jule had taken this chance to celebrate his birthday, he would make sure that it would be a grand event, there would be cake, games, even small fighting rings with blunt weapons.

Even though Jule was something of a loner, many people scared of him due to his rank, he had decided to send invites to everyone in his generation, at least some people were bound to come.

He…

He was tired of being alone…

…

As Jule walked towards the stable, he passed by the same family from earlier.

Even though they were relatively far away, Jule was a prodigy, able to reach rank 1 mind refinement at a very young age, and he was already nearly halfway through the rank. Compared to his peers, his senses were a wonder, able to eavesdrop on people from a distance.

“Mommy, Daddy” The child suddenly stops in his tracks, followed by Jule, who was a few steps away.

Although he wouldn’t admit it, he couldn’t stop looking at the interactions of this family. Jule knew it wasn’t right to eavesdrop, but…

He just wanted to look at them for a bit longer

“I forgot to tell you!, Lord Redshield invited me to his birthday party” If Jule’s attention was just sparse before, it was now focused completely on the conversation.

The child puffs out his chest, proud of being considered by the highest ranking member in their whole generation, yet his pride turns into nervousness when his parents become mute and stare at him.

“I told you to stop with the bad jokes” The father who was energetic earlier was now scowling, his tone deep and firm.

“I...I am not joking…!!” The child answers his father, nearly screeching.

The father and the mother lose their warm expressions, leaning into each other to whisper. Jule focuses all his senses on their voices, trying to piece together their conversation.

“Why would the Redshields invite a puny baron house like ours?” The woman murmurs to the man.

“I don’t know…” The man answers her, trying his best to wrack his head.

“I don’t think our child would be foolish enough to provoke the heir…” The mother too, tries her best to think of a reason.

“Maybe...maybe Lord Redshield is interested in our lands?... I wouldn’t put it above that warmonger, he has annexed more lands in the past few years than all other fiefs combined…”

The mother became pale like a ghost and the father no longer showed a hint of laughter.

In the Dresden Kingdom, conflict was common among fiefs, the solution was something called a controlled conflict. Both sides would make an agreement and gather a limited number of soldiers with defined ranks and fight it out.

Anything could be bet in these conflicts, whether that be people, mines, loyalty and even lands.

This gave a chance to lower ranked but skilled nobles to rise up and for higher ranked nobles to continue their growth.

This was done in order to reduce the damage from internal conflict.

Even so, nobles being nobles, it would never be that simple, kidnappings, the assasination of powerful fighters just before the day of the battle, poisonings, these things were extremely common.

And among all, ArchDuke Redshield was known as the most unscrupulous man, he would do anything to win. Though children were known as a prohibited area among nobles, they wouldn’t put it past that man.

Though the ArchDuke had, out of nowhere, disappeared from the scene for a few years, he had come back with a vengeance recently, taking over expansive swaths of land without a break, leaving many noble families destitute.

The father tried to regain his calm and placed his hands on his son’s shoulders.

“Son, you better keep your distance from Lord Redshield, his father is a very dangerous man, and the lives of your mother and I are in danger if we associate with him”

The child now looked scared out of his mind, the mere thought of his parents dying putting him on the border of tears, his knees becoming weak and his body collapsing.

“We need to prepare offerings and clothes, and give an excuse for our lack of assistance. We can’t put ourselves in a vulnerable position against that man”

The father lifted his crying child and grabbed his wife’s hand, urgency present on his face.

Jule’s mind was muddled…

Why would they say that about his father?...

His mother had always said he was a great man with a heart of gold…

Above all, certain words revolved in his mind, refusing to leave him alone.

“You better keep your distance from Lord Redshield…”

Jule’s fists tightened, crumpling the papers on his hands.

…

In the end, no one came to Jule’s birthday party.