A hand lands on my shoulder and my eyes snap open. I’m disoriented for a second, but my clean and opulent surroundings remind me where I am again.

I’m standing in one of the richest districts in this city. The buildings are all made of a combination of stone and wood, and they’re all large, tall, and extravagantly designed. A majority of the buildings have pointed roofs adorned with figures and images of different animals such as lions or dragons. The roads are clean and wide. There’s the main road where the carriages carry rich nobles to their respective destinations and then there are the sidewalks on each side which are spacious enough to allow crowds of people to walk without even bumping each other.

The whole district seems to glow with an opulent aura.

I’m here because I’m waiting for Ducis. Well, not anymore as it’s his hand which grasped my shoulder just now.

“Hey, why are you spacing out?” He asks.

I chuckle and shrug, “I was just reminiscing.”

It has been six years since the day we pledged our ambition, so we’re both eighteen now. I still can’t help but marvel at the differences between the past us and the current us.

Ducis, who used to always be covered in dirt, whose flesh clung to his bones, and whose hair used to be a disgusting mess; that guy now has healthy, fair skin, his body is covered in a decent amount of muscles, and his hair is long and silky (which he lets hang freely, allowing it to handsomely frame his face). He has a strong jaw and his almond-shaped eyes contain brown almost as dark as charcoal, still sparkling with the same drive as years ago.

It’s the same for me. I, who used to be the same mess as Ducis now also have a decent amount of muscles between my skin and bones, people now call my skin “healthy” and “fair”, and they call my hair “soft” and “silky” (Although I wear it in a different way than Ducis. Mine’s shorter and messier). I have narrow eyes that many describe as “menacing” and a face that many describe as “princely”. Personally, I feel quite flattered by such descriptions.

Our clothes are different too. I wear a purple-coloured loose silk shirt, beige leather pants, and dark brown leather boots. On the other hand, Ducis wears only colourful silk robes adorned in fanciful designs.

“So, how’s it going with Lord Wilhelm?” I ask, shaking myself out of my thoughts as we start walking down the neatly paved road.

“He completely trusts me now,” Ducis says with a smile, “Oh, and I also got all the scout postings you wanted. The king finally trusts Wilhelm now, so getting this was quite simple for him.”

He hands me a brown folder.

I smirk, “Good, we’ll be ready to make our move soon. Just a few more days now.”

We walk in silence as I run a few mental simulations in my head. Troop movements, casualty predictions, potential enemy maneuvers –

“Run away and hole yourselves up in the Beggar’s district, you damn Ardenians!”

My head snaps to the loud yell and I notice that we’re near a giant mob of people who are hurling insults and stones at a particular spot. I can easily guess that the incensed crowd is tormenting a group of people due to their choice of words, but I can’t make out what that group of people looks like due to that very same crowd.

Ducis looks at me and I shrug,

“Let’s check it out, I guess,” I say.

Ducis looks a little reluctant but he nods nonetheless.

The crowd is now singing in unison,

“Ardenians, half-wits, imbeciles, idiots,

Oh, they’re such riots!

We Salvorians reign supreme,

A height for which Ardenians can only dream!

They tried their best to reach us,

But they all ended up eating dust!”

The crowd continues singing the song over and over as we walk up to them and gently tap one of them on the back to get their attention.

The person stops singing and turns around. It’s a man and his face is flushed with anger and excitement.

“What?” he asks impatiently.

I put on my best “innocent smile” and ask politely, “I’m sorry to interrupt, but I just wanted to ask; what’s going on?”

The man’s face softens, “There are two Ardenians who live in this district. Their father brought them here and bought a house in this district,” he clicks his tongue and glares behind him, “faux-nobles and foreigners, that’s what they are! Just because they’re kids doesn’t mean we’ve forgotten how many of our people they killed in the Great war!”

I recall all the knowledge I have of Ardenia, “But wasn’t Ardenia wiped out in the Great war? Where else would they go?”

“Anywhere but here!” The man roars, “We suffered more casualties from their hands than anyone else! They’re our enemies—they don’t deserve to comfortably live here!”

The man turns back to his chanting, clearly considering this conversation over.

Ducis looks at me curiously to confirm whether what the man said had been true or not.

“It’s true,” I say, “Our South is protected by a giant mountain range, and our Western and Northern borders are coastlines. However, Ardenia used to border us to the East, so our armies constantly clashed against each other.”

“You said it was wiped out?” Ducis asks.

I nod, all the while noticing that the mob is thinning out now, “Yeah… Salvorum wasn’t the only country that bordered Ardenia. Ardenia’s North and East borders were coastlines, but they still bordered the nation of Vincere on the South.”

“Vincere…” Ducis puts strokes his chin in thought, “Isn’t that the country which takes up the entire Eastern half of the continent?”

I nod again, “Yeah. In the Great war, Vincere managed to completely wipe out Ardenia. I read that it took Vincere only ten months, a feat apparently orchestrated by only a single strategist.”

Ducis blinks, “A single strategist…? Amazing…”

I shoot him a smirk, “You'd best believe it; strategists are dangerous creatures.”

Ducis chuckles, “Consider yourself a strategist, do you? Well whatever, what was the strategist’s name?”

“Is.” I correct him, “She’s still alive. And her name is Iura, also known as "The Conqueror". The destruction of Ardenia was the reason the Great War ended, so I guess you could say she was the main reason behind the war’s end. We were born right after that and she was only seventeen when she accomplished that, so… she should be thirty-five by now. Hm, not that old…”

Ducis nods, his curiosity satiated for now.

The mob gradually continues thinning out until finally, only the battered figures of the Ardenians remain.

There are two—one male and one female. They both have red hair, but that’s where the similarities end. The female still looks quite young, while the male looks like he’s already in his thirties.

The female has a lean frame that’s almost unhealthy but not quite so, her eyes are a vivid green, and her features are still quite childish.

The male, on the other hand, has a stocky build, slight wrinkles on his face, a slight stubble growing on his chin, and his eyes are a dull blue.

Both have multiple scratches on their bodies and their clothes have multiple small rips in them.

Ducis glances at me, “New recruits?”

“Obviously.”

We walk up to them and offer our hands, “Hey, are you guys okay?”

The female takes my hand, but the male bats Ducis’ away and pulls himself up. My eye twitches.

“Don’t trust them, Luna!” He growls, “They were just watching while those other bastards were beating us up!”

“Yeah, what do you expect?” I ask with an annoyed frown; he should really use his brain a little. “Do you really think that those guys would stop if we told them to? All trying to stop them would accomplish is us losing standing among the nobles.”

The man grits his teeth, but Ducis steps in front of me before he can say or do anything, “I apologize for my friend’s rude tone, but you must realize that there was simply nothing we could do.”

Ducis’ gentle tone visibly calms the Ardenian man and he shrugs in a defeated manner, “Yeah… I guess…”

Ducis sticks his hand out again, “My name is Ducis, and my friend here is Eremus. A pleasure to meet you.”

The Ardenian man hesitates for a few seconds before taking Ducis’ hand and shaking it once.

“Rex,” he gives.

“Once again, a pleasure to meet you, Rex,” Ducis says.

“So, I heard you guys were being picked on because you guys were originally Ardenians?” I ask, mainly directing my question at Luna.

Unfortunately, Rex chooses to answer.

“Not “were originally Ardenians”! We still are Ardenians!”

I raise an amused eyebrow, “Even though the country no longer exists?”

Rex glares at me, not that I care. He opens his mouth—probably to say something stupid again—but Ducis interrupts,

“Let’s get away from here. We might catch the attention of some other noble.”

As Ducis leads us away, I can’t help but laugh a little internally at how Luna and Rex are already following Ducis’ orders.

“What about you?” I ask quietly, leaning close to the young girl’s ear, “Do you think you’re Ardenian too?”

“Ardenia was destroyed way before I was born,” the girl shrugs and whispers back, “But the way I’ve been treated in Salvorum… I don’t think I’m a Salvorian either.”

I nod in understanding and barely stop a smirk from showing on my face. This is good news, if she doesn’t hold that much loyalty to this country, then it’ll be easier to convince her to join us.

“How old are you anyway?” I ask.

“Turned fifteen just recently,” she answers with a friendly grin, “Why?”

Hmm, a bit too young, but she’ll grow soon enough…

“No reason—just curious.”

Ducis leads us into a more middle-class district while I continue to trade small talk with Luna. before I know it, we’ve arrived at the Food House.

The Food House is a restaurant frequented by Ducis and me whenever we’re free. Its tables are all outdoors and spread out away from each other, so it’s the ideal location for us to discuss our plans, or convince people to join us.

We take a seat, and soon enough, Mrs. Remansi comes to take our order. Mrs. Remansi is the owner of the Food House, but for some reason, she likes taking the job of waiter in her own restaurant. Her face is covered in wrinkles upon wrinkles, her long hair has turned completely white, and her eyes are a warm and humbling brown.

Ducis and I have known Mrs. Remansi ever since we were fourteen so, to us, she’s sort of like what I would imagine a lovable aunt to be. Despite that, she has no idea what we plan to do in the future.

“Oh my,” Mrs. Remansi says with a kind smile, “More friends of yours? It seems like every time you come to this humble little store you have some different person accompanying you.”

I put on my best “innocent” face, “I guess, it’s just because we meet a lot of people in our line of work.”

Mrs. Remansi chuckles merrily, “Well, I suppose it’s good that you’re making so many friends. Now, what’ll you have?”

“Four sticks of chicken kebab please,” I order. Chickens are bred everywhere in this country so all foods usually involve chicken in one way or another.

Mrs. Remansi smiles, “Right away.” And with that, she walks back into her store to place our order.

“Rex, Luna,” Ducis calls as we wait. That determined look on his face tells me that he’s finally begun the recruitment—a little abrupt this time, but oh well, “Do you both ever get to go through a day without being tormented for being Ardenians?”

“Of course not!” Luna instantly says, shaking her head, “Have you seen those guys?”

Rex, on the other hand, just frowns warily. He’s a suspicious one…

“Don’t you think that this country is foolish to hold a grudge for something that happened over eighteen years ago?” Ducis continues, “Don’t you think that they should simply leave you both be—especially considering the fact that your entire country was destroyed?”

“Of course!” Luna nods emphatically. But Rex is openly frowning now, he clearly suspects something. Perhaps we were too direct this time…

Ducis still continues, unfazed by Rex’s wariness, “There’s clearly something wrong with this country if they can’t let go of a grudge like that. And that’s not even the worst of it; only three percent of this country is made up of nobles, the rest are all civilians struggling to survive. Poverty rampages through our lands, but the nobles and the king pretend nothing is wrong and only think of themselves! Is this really the kind of country we want to live in? Is this really the kind of people we want watching over us?”

Rex narrows his eyes while Luna vigorously nods her head again. But then, she suddenly blinks and frowns slightly, “Why’re you telling us this though? Are you guys revolutionaries or something?”

“That’s exactly what we are!” Ducis passionately declares, “Join us, and help us change this country!”

Rex instantly hides his expression and reaction under a mask of apathy while Luna looks hesitant, “Er… I don’t know… I mean—it sounds a bit dangerous, doesn’t it?”

Ducis gives her a melancholic smile, “What else do you have to live for?”

Luna visibly recoils and it takes all my willpower to hide my victorious smirk. Ducis has hit the nail exactly on its head; an Ardenian who lives in the noble district but is hated by all, there’s no way that a person like would have any friends or comfort, despite how much wealth they have.

“Unless, of course, you have a family to go back to?” Ducis asks.

This is the riskiest hurdle. If her parents are still alive, then she will be far less willing to follow a bunch of people on such a dangerous path like this—no matter how isolated she feels.

Luna looks down, and at that moment, I know that our gamble has payed off. Judging from the expression on her face, she only needs a slight push to finally commit.

“You said that you don’t think of yourself as an Ardenian, but you don’t think of yourself as a Salvorian either. Join us, and make Salvorum a country that you can call home,” I say.

I hold my hand out to her.

She stares at my hand before biting her lip and staring at her own. Slowly, very slowly, she brings up her hand and rests it on my own.

I give her a gentle smile, “Welcome to the team. Great to have you.”

She smiles back happily, and, once again, I barely stop myself from smirking; she’s hooked.

I glance at Rex out of the corner of my eye. Now, as Luna’s family member, Rex too will no doubt—

“Before you ask, I decline,” Rex says.

My eyes widen in surprise involuntarily, but I quickly bring them back under control.

“Don’t worry,” he says, “I don’t like this country either so I won’t tell anyone. It’s just that I don’t want to get involved in something as dangerous as an insurrection.”

I subtly grit my teeth while Ducis frowns. Quickly, I rearrange my face into a friendly smile and look at him,

“Don’t worry,” I say, “If you don’t want to join us then that’s fine. We won’t force you to do anything you don’t want to do.”

Rex looks at me for a few seconds with evaluating eyes before he nods in gratitude.

“Well, I must apologize, but if you don’t intend to join us then we have to part ways here. We have to fill Luna in to our plan, however we can’t very well let a person unaffiliated with our group overhear us.”

Luna hesitantly stands up along with Ducis and me as Ducis gives Rex a warm smile,

“If you ever change your mind and decide that you want to join us, then you know who to contact.”

With that, we wave goodbye and walk away. Ducis and I both know what to do now—it’s something we’ve done plenty of times before.

Ducis engages Luna in conversation while I head into the store and up to the counter, behind which stands a waiting cashier. As I hand the payment to the cashier, I quickly and surreptitiously whisper,

“Follow the red-haired man and make sure to not get caught.”

The man nods slightly and turn around and leave.

Yes, this is another reason we frequent this store the most. The Food House has three employees; Mrs. Remansi, the cashier, and the cook. Two out of three of these people work for us as spies.

As I walk out, I run into Mrs. Remansi.

“Oh, you’re leaving already? But I haven’t even given you your order yet,” she says, gesturing at the plate in her hands which holds four sticks of chicken kebab.

I scoop up three of them, “I’ll take these. The last one goes to him,” I nudge my head at Rex.

“Oh good,” Remansi sighs in relief, “Young children like you need all the energy you can get.”

I shoot her a grateful smile—one that I’m not entirely sure is faked—and jog to catch up to Ducis and Luna.

“Oh, Eremus,” Ducis notices, “Did you finish paying?”

Ducis is fully aware of what I’d gone to do—it’s why he distracted Luna in the first place—so I can easily tell he’s not really asking about the payment.

I give him a nod and fall in step with the two, giving the two a stick of kebab each. Luna takes the silence after my arrival as an indication to continue her previous conversation with Ducis,

“So yeah, we weren’t exactly nobles in Ardenia either, but we still had enough money to buy a house in the Golden District.”

The Golden District is the name of the rich district filled with nobles that we were in a while ago. The district that Ducis and I were born in is called the Beggar’s District.

“By the way, Isn’t Rex a family member of yours?” I ask Luna.

Luna shakes her head, “Not really. He’s another Ardenian who was wealthy enough to buy a house in the Golden District. We don’t really meet much and he wasn’t a friend of our parents either. It’s just that we’re the only two people in the Golden district who have Ardenian blood so we get grouped together whenever the crowd there starts something.”

“What about your parents?” Ducis asks, “What happened to them? Did the nobles…?”

“Nah,” Luna shakes her head and takes a bite from her stick, “They died from a disease when I was really young. The nobles wouldn’t go that far, it’s too “undignified”.”

I frown as, involuntarily, pity blooms in me.

“Then… how did you survive for this long?” I ask.

Luna shrugs, “Eh, my parents left me a lot of money, so I was just using that. I was probably going to run out in a few years, and with all the people in this country rejecting me for all the jobs I apply for, I don’t know what would’ve happened. But now… well, I’m part of a rebellion, so… I guess if we win, I can get any good job I want.”

“We will win,” I say firmly, “That’s for sure.”

“Yeah?” Luna asks, “How d’you figure that?”

I smirk, “Look around you. Where are we?”

Luna lets her eyes roam and blinks, “The… Beggar’s District?”

I nod, “Exactly, now follow us.”

I take her in through a door and have her follow us inside through the darkness. What we have entered is a simple shack with absolutely nothing in it. This shack lies at the very edge of the Beggar’s district so it’s an easy spot for Ducis and me to reach.

At the end of the shack, there lies a trapdoor with a ladder underneath, from which we descend into even further darkness.

Luna follows us down, and when we finally reach the ground,

“Is this the place?” She asks while trying to peer into the darkness. She sounds slightly nervous.

“Not yet,” I answer.

The terrain here is uneven, so we walk carefully down the sloping path. There are actually several winding paths in this underground tunnel so one must know their way through here, lest they hit a dead end.

A few minutes of walking later, we can finally see light at the end of the tunnel.

“There it is,” I say.

Luna breathes a sigh of relief, “Oh, so something actually exists here? For a second there, I thought you guys just wanted to kill me in the dark and take my money.”

I blink, “You’re… extremely blunt, aren’t you?”

Luna shrugs, “Eh, I guess.”

I shake my head and lead her into the light. We emerge into a giant cavernous area where the walls are lined with torches. The size of this cavern cannot be overstated—if one were to run at full speed from one end to another, then it would take them at least an hour to make it to even one lap.

But the size is not the greatest feature about this cavern. There is a single great protrusion on the sides of this wall that spirals upwards and acts as a path to the top, and we are located at the highest point of the spiral so we can see the greatest feature right below us.

Down on the ground lies a sea of people all dressed in steel armour and holding weapons. The giant gathering is divided into large squares that are each being led by a single commander. Some squares are practicing with their weapons, some are practicing their formations, and some are simply standing, thereby practicing their discipline.

Their myriad of voices echo around us as their footsteps rumble in our ears. Each commanding shout that rings in our ears reinforces the fact that there lies an entire army below us.

I look at Luna and see that her eyes are now wide. There is an expression of extreme shock on her face, and I can clearly see that she’s trembling in awe.

“60,000 troops. That’s our number here,” I say with flourish.