Blood Assimilation

Taking a few deep breaths to calm their nerves, Barian and Zante opened the city gate themselves. Afterward, they looked around and saw the guards at the entrance of the gate speaking to someone in front of them in a respectful tone. Curious about who could possibly make those guards act in such a way, they turned to look at the person in question.

The person in their view was a serious-looking man who appeared to be in his twenties. He had well-trimmed short blonde hair and pale blue eyes that were slightly narrowed.

However, when Barian and Zante saw the stern look and demeanor of the person in their line of sight, their hearts nearly skipped a beat as a result of the sheer joy they felt at this moment.

"Captain! You're alive!"

Both Barian and Zante shouted simultaneously as though they had just escaped the illusory clutches of the Death God that had gripped their throats, beckoning them to give up their lives for the greater good all this time.

"Hm?"

The blonde-haired, blue-eyed man clad in well-designed golden and white armor turned his head to look at the two silly men who suddenly knelt on the ground with tears pouring out of their eyes involuntarily out of joy.

…

A few hours ago.

Holy Knight Randy who had made adjustments to his plans a few days ago, made his way toward the entrance of the city gate that led inside Imperial City.

When he arrived at Imperial City, he found out that it was still the first day of the promised three-day period. With that discovery, under the effect of his [Absolute Stealth] skill and [Traceless Form] Technique, he managed to get out of the city and spent two days outdoors.

It was not a problem for him. He took the chance to camp outdoors with the various provisions he had bought from Market Street before departing.

Currently, the three-day period was about to come to an end and he needed to visit that pub Incarnation Randy had visited with the two Holy Knights. He wanted to meet them in order to officially announce his return to the city and at the same time prove the abilities of Incarnation Randy.

When he meets Barian and Zante, he would state that he was alerted through a mysterious means by someone to come to the Imperial City to meet up with his subordinates who were looking for him. And that it was due to that he was able to come to the Imperial City to search for them.

With that plan in mind, he approached the two guards at the gate, but he was stopped by the guards who immediately demanded his identification.

"Stop right there!"

"What do you want?"

Holy Knight Randy tentatively asked in the cold voice of Zolat Grant.

"Please prove your identity by showing us your identification card!"

One of the guards tightly gripped his sword as he mentioned this to him.

"Even if I am a Holy Knight of the Church of Light?"

Holy Knight Randy tentatively asked them as he didn't remember Zolat Grant ever showing these guards his identity whenever he came through the city gate.

"I'm afraid there are no exceptions to this rule!"

The second guard chimed as he also gripped his sword. He was ready to strike in case Holy Knight Randy did not want to comply with their demands, which would suggest that he was an enemy in disguise.

Listening to their words and actions, Holy Knight Randy wondered if the two guards were newly stationed and as a result didn't recognize his identity as Zolat Grant.

Regardless, Holy Knight Randy was caught in a bind as he technically didn't have Zolat Grant's identification card on him. All of Zolat Grant's things, including his identification card, were placed in one of his storage items.

Having no choice, he decided to brute force his way through using Zolat Grant's status and reputation.

"Do the city guards no longer recognize me just because I've been away for some time? How dare you stand in front of the Captain of the Holy Knights? Do you have a death wish?!"

Holy Knight Randy shouted with a convincingly furious expression, and at the same time, he took the helmet that covered half of his face, revealing his handsome appearance to the ignorant guards in hopes that they would recognize him.

Sure enough, one of them recognized his unique features from the rumors that he had heard and gasped in shock for a moment. Then, he smacked the other guard who still didn't recognize the person before them, and informed him of the identity of Holy Knight Randy.

The other guard shuddered in fear after listening to his partner, and then both of them bowed and said: "Your honor, we're sorry for not recognizing you! We were only recently stationed to guard the city gate, so we have yet to meet you in person! On that account, may you find it in your heart to forgive us for our ignorance. Please allow us to open the gate for you."

"Hmph! Then, you should have done your research before assuming your newly appointed position. Now, peel off your useless eyes and recognize who I am. If you dare talk to me in such a disrespectful way like you did today the next time we meet, I won't easily let you off the hook."

"…Understood. Please allow us to open the gate for you, your honor."

"You should've done that from the start instead of wasting my time like this."

Holy Knight Randy scoffed and chided as he waited for them to open the door for him.

The two guards quickly turned around to open the gate, only to see an oddity. At this moment, they discovered that the city gate had been opened halfway through by itself from the inside. They wondered what had happened.

Then, the next moment, under their puzzled and watchful eyes, through the partially opened gate, two pairs of eyes were seen surreptitiously looking out. When the guards took a closer look, they were stunned by the identities of the two people behind the city gate.

Shockingly, it was two Holy Knights who peeked through the gate. They observed them briefly before turning their gazes toward the Captain of the Holy Knights behind them.

The two guards immediately thought they were in trouble for their earlier actions, hence the appearance of the two Holy Knights. However, what happened next completely left them dumbfounded.

The two Holy Knights walked through the city gate and then shouted: "Captain! You're alive! Thank the goodness of the Light God!"

Barian and Zante were overjoyed and they knelt on the ground with tears streaming down their cheeks.

Holy Knight Randy was startled inwardly by the sudden appearance of the two armored people. However, upon closer observation of the armored people in front of him, he instantly recognized them as the two armored men, or to be more specific, the two Holy Knights, Barian and Zante whom Incarnation Randy had deceived to gather information.

At this point, Holy Knight Randy calmed down. He focused his mind and immediately devised a plan regardless of the situation unfolding before him. After all, the present conditions could only suggest that the espionage mission appeared to be successful.

A moment later, Holy Knight Randy stared at Barian and Zante and sternly questioned: "Barian and Zante, do you care to explain? What are the two of you doing here in Imperial City? Aren't you supposed to be in Alpheotus City? Did the two of you useless fools come to Imperial City thinking that I was dead after I ventured out to search for that vampire's hideout?"

"But Captain, weren't you… you know…"

"Weren't I what? Instead of searching for my whereabouts or patiently waiting for my return, you ran to Imperial City? Are you really my trusted subordinates?"

Barian and Zante embarrassingly dropped their heads and spoke apologetically: "W-We're sorry, Captain. We honestly thought you were dead when we found your blood… you know, at the scene."

"Enough nonsense! Lead the way. While you're at it, tell me what happened during my absence."

"Will do, Captain!"

The guards at the entrance observed their conversation and slowly realized that it wasn't about them and they gradually became relaxed.

With that realization, they stood aside and let Holy Knight Randy nonchalantly walk past them. Holy Knight Randy gave the two guards a cold glare momentarily before turning away and walking behind the two Holy Knights into the city.

The two guards stood there rigidly in fear when they felt his gaze. They watched as his figure disappeared before heaving out a sigh of relief.

""We lived!""

"Damn. That Holy Knight Captain… Wasn't he that vengeful and spiteful Zolat Grant from the rumors whom I heard came from the tycoon family of the Royal Capital, the Grant Family… I hope he doesn't hold a grudge against us and make things difficult for us in the future because of what happened just now."

"Did you not see the way he glared at us before walking away? I doubt he would let us go for crossing him. There's just no way for someone like him to let us go without any payback. Curse my luck!"

The two guards felt that it was better to join the army to fight in the war than to remain in their current position and be exploited by Zolat Grant. However, they only got their city gate guard position recently, so it was too early to receive a transfer to a different position.