Chapter 337: Everyone Else, Follow Me
Marshal Keene stepped forward once everyone had been introduced. He had an old uncle voice, an uncle that you didn’t want to cross.
"Welcome to the Golden Barracks. We have trained Kingdom Rangers here for more than a century. We have prepared armies for Demon Breaks, territorial wars, Warning, Great and even the Greatest Gate, and every disaster humanity has survived long enough to name."
His gaze moved over the students. "This time, we are preparing for something larger."
The air around the deck seemed to quiet.
"Your presence here matters," Keene continued. "Not only because of your individual ability, but because soldiers notice who stands beside them when war begins. The strongest students of Awakener Supreme training here with us will be seen."
Valeria straightened slightly, Vernon kept his face calm, and Renan listened without moving.
"When the time comes to enter the Second World, morale will matter almost as much as power," Keene finished.
Bane stepped beside him. "They have travelled long enough. Take them to their lodges and give them time to settle. We can begin the speeches in the full briefing this evening."
Keene nodded. "Of course." He gestured toward the tower entrance. "This way."
Lancet followed with the others, his excitement returning the moment they passed through the armored doors. The inside of the control tower looked even busier than the deck.
Wide corridors crossed one another behind glass walls, allowing Lancet to see officers moving between terminals while large maps changed across hanging screens.
Staff carried equipment crates onto lifts, and communication Mages spoke into crystal arrays that connected them to other districts. They reached a large elevator at the end of the hall, and as Keene placed one hand against the scanner, the doors opened immediately.
The group entered, and the elevator dropped, leaving a sudden hollow feeling in Lancet’s stomach.
He smiled and looked through the transparent side of the elevator. Floor after floor passed them, revealing command rooms, strategy halls, communication centers, and weapon coordination hubs. The tower seemed to have an entire government inside it.
When the elevator finally reached the ground floor, the doors opened onto a hall large enough to hold a marketplace, with workers moving absolutely everywhere.
Some were heading toward lifts with stacks of reports or crystal tablets, while others stood in small groups arguing over maps projected between them.
A pair of armored Brigadiers walked past while discussing new Gate appearances in cities, and three Kingdom Rangers waited near one reception desk with weapons strapped across their backs.
As they walked, several people noticed the newcomers, causing the ambient conversations to slow. Lancet caught the whispers rippling through the hall.
"That’s Heavenblum."
"Falconhart too."
"Is that Lancet Leogardt? The Legend Summoner?"
Espel walked beside him without reacting, and while Estelle’s presence drew its own share of looks, Exela drew even more. Lancet watched one distracted man nearly walk into a pillar before remembering where he was going.
Keene led them through the hall toward a long reception desk where six attendants worked beneath a gold-black insignia. The lead receptionist looked up, and Keene nodded at her. She respectfully nodded back.
As they got close enough to it, the enormous front doors opened, letting morning light pour inside. Keene stepped outside, and Lancet followed, only to almost stop dead in his tracks.
A narrow construct stood beside the entrance. It looked like a black pillar and had a crystal screen built into its center. Keene placed two fingers against it, and Lancet’s eyes widened.
"No way." He grinned as he recognized what that was. "A Portal Station."
Keene entered several commands, and the construct lit up. A circular portal opened beside the road, filled with blue-white energy that spun inside it, stable and perfectly round.
Lancet had read about these too.
Portal Mages built and maintained them across the Golden Barracks, connecting important districts without requiring everyone to travel through the entire military city.
They were expensive enough that ordinary workers did not use them casually. Since each activation consumed a massive amount of Grace, using one was essentially burning a piece of a staff member’s yearly salary just to save time.
But Marshal Keene clearly did not worry about such things.
He turned toward Selene Marr. "Director. Take the recruits to the residential district and make sure everyone is settled."
Selene nodded, and Keene looked toward Romsgard, Bane, Danistasia, and Ordenance. "We’ll proceed to the Executive Tower."
Bane nodded. Exela asked the King a question with just a look and Romsgard nodded his head at her with assurance. "You may go with them."
Exela gave a short bow. "Of course, Your Majesty."
Selene stepped toward the portal. "Everyone else, follow me."
Lancet joined Vernon, Estelle,, Nereus, Renan, Espel, Valeria and Exela as they entered the spinning magic. The world folded around them, leaving only blue light and pressure against his skin for one breathless second before the ground returned beneath his feet.
Once Lancet stepped out, he halted instantly in his tracks.
Right in front of him was a giant square! Wait, there were two at his sides! His eyes widened.
Three enormous buildings, conjoined at their edges, were surrounding them. Each one was shaped like a massive square block, tall enough to dominate the surrounding district, with black walls stretching upward and gold framing locked around every edge.
Thousands of glowing windows covered their faces in perfect rows. The three buildings formed most of a square around an enormous central courtyard and left the fourth side open toward the wider Barracks.
Lancet stared up, realizing those windows were the lodges. Thousands of rooms meant for thousands of soldiers.
The courtyard below them was full of movement. Awakeners sparred in marked circles, Rangers sat on benches cleaning weapons, and groups crossed between buildings carrying training gear and supply bags. Some were eating, while others were stretching or talking after their morning drills.
Once they saw the portals, they all froze. A Ranger holding a spear lowered it to the ground, two friends sparring paused mid-attack, and a group sitting near the fountain looked up together.
"Huh?"