Chapter Four


    Ambrose waited for an answer. In a way, he wasn’t much better than the man before him. He might have been an adulterer and a murderer, but Ambrose was also a murderer and had killed many more than him. His [Retributions Gaze] gave him a deeper insight into the man than the previous skill. It didn’t just list his crimes but gave him a sense of why he had done them.


    Kellan Akenyemi had a predator’s soul. Many people think that means evil, but it doesn’t, Ambrose considered. It meant a lot of things, but for Kellan, it was protecting his territory; it was power, seizing what he wanted, and protecting his own.


    His wife had trampled over some of those things and hurt him in only the way family could. It didn’t make his actions okay, far from it, but it did show Ambrose that he wasn’t an Eric.


    There was also the issue of the Incursions. Ambrose hadn’t prioritized them initially, and Avalon paid for that decision. They lost Knights who had gone out on patrols to the mainland, and more and more of the land was overrun by monsters or taken for the Incursions people.


    Right now, it was the fire giants he was dealing with. At the moment, the giants were unwilling to parlay, as they attacked every time their eyes laid on Ambrose. He was forced to kill them. He did not know about the other Incursions other than where they were located, near the settlements of the two forerunners in the room.


    Kellan finally recovered from the shock of Ambrose revealing information he should not have known. His throat undulated downward as he swallowed, and he cleared his throat, collecting himself as he straightened. At first, his eyes sparked with anger, and his knuckles popped, but he answered the question instead of lashing out as Ambrose had expected.


    “There is a group of dwarves beneath a nearby mountain; I suspect their Incursion portal is within. A single dwarf guards the mine entrance that leads below.”


    Andrea raised an eyebrow, holding up a hand,


    “Umm, just one? Shouldn’t it be a snap to get through, then?”


    She snapped her fingers to illustrate the point.


    Ambrose wanted an answer, too, and even Tina looked interested.


    Kellan rubbed his face with a weary sigh.


    “He’s too powerful. High D-Grde, maybe even C-Grade. We can’t even get close, he…he” Kellan searched for the words,


    “Exudes this pressure. He laughs at us, drinks from this mug, and shoos us away like unruly children.”


    He doesn’t know about spirit Ambrose almost breathed. Luckily, he contained the thoughts in his mind, revealing nothing. Kellan had no idea the bombshell of information he had just dropped. Spiritual skills were wielded by the most powerful beings in the multiverse, and the sooner you had one, the better.


    It took a lot of training to master your spiritual skill. Training that continued indefinitely as far as Ambrose was aware because you had to know yourself. There were also Icons, which Vivienne had yet to discuss with him.


    “Did it feel like this?”


    Ambrose unleashed his spirit, letting it leak out from his [Infernal Aegis] skill. Unauthorized use of content: if you find this story on Amazon, report the violation.


    Suddenly, everyone in the room was pressed to the floor as if an anvil had been slammed into them.


    Except for Tina. She grinned wolfishly, and his spirit suddenly met resistance, as if a cosmic bodybuilder was straining against the weight of his spirit. She laughed joyfully and stood up, her eyes shining with star fire.


    “Haha! Yes! I love it. Hear me,  le chevalier, I challenge you. Beat me in a duel, and I will tell you about my Incursion; I will even ally with you!”


    Ambrose knew that look. It was the look of a person who craved battle, who thrived on challenge. The teen girl had seen a worthy foe in him, and if he didn’t fight her, she would find a reason.


    He sighed, stroking his beard.


    “Fine. I accept.”


    He took hold of his spirit and sealed it up again. The pressure vanished, and Kellan sucked in a breath while Andrea cursed. Thom woke up with a sputtered word.


    “Shit fire, son! Do you have to go and do that? I was nappin’!”


    Andrea ran a hand through her hair,


    “Fucking hell, I hate it when you do that.”


    Ambrose didn’t apologize. He was studying Kellan, who was looking at him as if he were seeing him for the first time. It was a predator who had recognized another predator and one far greater than he. Ambrose met his gaze steadily.


    “After this duel, I would request that you accept linking our teleportation arrays. Andrea will arrange how your people are processed coming in and out of Avalon. I want to meet this dwarf, and you’re clearly incapable of dealing with him.”


    Kellan’s face darkened at that, but he merely grunted. Ambrose turned, looking at Andrea with a raised eyebrow.


    “Are you good with handling that? I’ll send Tina here up to do the same after the duel.”


    Tina laughed,


    “Such confidence that you shall win le chevalier.”


    Thom rubbed his eyes,


    “More fights? Ye gods, have you children ever considered talking?”


    “Fists talk more than words ever will le vieillard.”


    “English, lass,” Thom replied curmudgeonly.


    Tina flicked a dismissive hand, her hazel eyes staring at Ambrose. In truth, he didn’t want to fight her. He felt he had better things to do, but it was necessary.


    “First, rules. We fight until one submits. No killing, no collateral damage. If it gets out of hand, we stop, it’s a tie and we discuss from there. Fair?”


    Tina nodded firmly,


    “Fair. You have merely lead on to the location of our duel.” She gestured at the door.


    Ambrose studied the girl. He could see that she didn’t have complete control of her spirit. With a thought, he used [Retributions Gaze] on her again.


    [Tina Florence, the 4th Forerunner. She has committed no crimes and carries the burden of leading her people. Loss hangs over her, something she blames herself for, that drives her to build something lasting.]


    It had been the loss and burden of leading that made him respect her. Here was someone he could understand, driven, albeit in a different way, than he was. She had a genuine battle lust, but Ambrose could see the motive behind it.


    Tina Florence wanted to progress because she needed to prevent what had happened to her from ever happening again. To her core, Tina was a guardian and protector of her people. Ambrose represented a way to train, grow in strength, and use that very growth for her people’s betterment.


    It was a lot of responsibility for a teen girl to bear. As that thought crossed Ambrose’s mind, he saw her in a new light.


    She merely appeared to be a teen.


    She was more than that, and Ambrose was sure she was about to show him that.


    They left Darren’s Hall and went to the barracks. Clearing out the training field wasn’t hard, the Knights of Avalon muttering as they lined the fence, looking curiously at the two combatants standing across from one another.


    A breeze drifted lazing through their hair.


    “Are you ready, le chevalier?”


    Ambrose gestured at her.


    “Let’s begin.”