Chapter 42: The letter of death.
Knock!
Knock!
Tayin raised an eyebrow as he stood up and walked toward the door.
Opening it, he saw a lower-ranking military personnel. However, from the one-star emblem on his chest, Tayin knew he was a Colonel, an official ranked below him.
"Greetings, General."
The Colonel bowed as he spoke.
Hearing this, Tayin nodded.
"Colonel, why are you here?"
Tayin couldn’t help but ask as the Colonel bowed slightly and handed him a letter.
This one bore the insignia of the Royal Family.
Tayin took it, unable to forget his father’s warnings.
"Thank you. You can leave."
Tayin spoke as the Colonel saluted before leaving.
Once the Colonel was gone, Tayin entered his room with a frown, his mind spiraling with thoughts.
Sitting back at his desk, he glanced at the crumpled letter from his father, sighed, and then opened the one supposedly from the Royal Family.
«Greetings, General Tayin.
This is an official military order issued by the Marshal and signed by the Grand General. We would first like to applaud the relentless effort you, General Tayin, have shown in keeping not only the city of Conjol standing but the entire continent as well.
In recognition of your efforts, you have been ordered to hunt down a four-headed Javo with a giant gem embedded in its chest. This is an official order, and we hope you can bring justice to the humans who have been killed and sacrificed to stop this beast.
Yours truly,
Marshal Gubi,
Ancestor of the Royal Family
Signature: ****** Signature: ******
Gubi ( Marshal) Ren( Grand General)
"This is impossible..."
Tayin almost squeezed the letter until it tore. He wanted to burn it, but he managed to restrain himself.
His eyes burned with fury as he gritted his teeth.
His father was right.
Just as he had warned, the Royal Family had already reached their hands toward him.
The letter might have been filled with a little praise for his achievements and framed as an order to hunt a dangerous Javo and protect the people of the continent.
But after reading his father’s letter, Tayin understood what it truly meant.
They wanted to get rid of him.
After all, the said Javo could rival a Half-Step Supreme Realm expert in strength.
For such a hunt to have any chance of succeeding, the opponent would normally have to be within your territory, where it wouldn’t have the support of its own race or anyone capable of rescuing it.
But that particular Javo was currently at the very core of the Javo territory—the Dark Forest, which Tayin couldn’t enter.
According to the agreement and treaty between both races, humans were forbidden from entering the core.
Any human who violated the agreement could and would be killed, regardless of their realm.
That meant even a Supreme Realm expert would be attacked and killed.
Sending Tayin to hunt a creature like that was nothing short of suicide.
But there was another reason the Javo could remain in that area without being attacked.
It was a slave to a Demon.
What was a Demon?
It was the highest rank among the Abyssal creatures.
They began at the Supreme Realm, showing just how terrifying they were.
Even if, by some miracle, Tayin managed to complete the task, the Demon would invade their continent for revenge.
Even though it might not be able to directly kill humans because of the thr difference in Race ranks, it could still take revenge.
And if one of its own was hunted and killed, the Duke family could be wiped out.
There was no way out.
The Gateway to the Abyss was also located deep within the core of the Javo territory.
The more Tayin thought about it, the more frightened and shocked he became.
This...
This was an attempt to kill him and it was practically a guaranteed death sentence.
And even if he somehow completed the task, both he and the Duke family could still be doomed.
No matter what happened, either he would die, or the Duke family would die alongside him.
Worse still, the order had been signed by both the Marshal and the Grand General—the two people above him in the military hierarchy.
The military followed a strict hierarchy, and soldiers were required to obey orders from their superiors, no matter how insane those orders were.
So this order had to be followed.
But Tayin couldn’t understand one thing.
Yes, the Marshal was the ancestor of the Royal Family and a Supreme Realm expert. He had sent the letter with his signature.
But why had the Grand General also signed it?
The Marshal was at the capital, while the Grand General was stationed at Conjol.
The Grand General was a Half-Step Supreme Realm expert. He could potentially break through to the Supreme Realm in the future, allowing the Destal Kingdom to gain another Supreme Realm expert.
At this moment, however, he oversaw the city of Conjol.
Even more importantly, he wasn’t associated with the Royal Family.
He had come from a commoner’s background and worked his way up through the military, proving his talent and discipline.
He couldn’t possibly be unaware of what was happening in the capital or the rising tension between the Royal Family and the Duke family.
He should have known what this order meant.
If Tayin died, his father, the second of the two Supreme Realm experts of the Destal Kingdom would never simply accept it.
This could even lead to war.
So why?
Why would he also sign this letter?
Did he want a war to happen?
Did he want the Destal Kingdom to split apart?
Tayin angrily stood up and left his room.
He headed deeper into the building, passing other Generals without even responding to their greetings.
Eventually, he reached the far end of the building.
A large courtyard came into view, with a giant mansion standing at its center.
This was where the Grand General resided.
And Tayin wanted answers.
At the very least, if the Grand General hadn’t willingly signed the order, they could still find a way to work around it.
Tayin wouldn’t have to march to his death in the Javo territory.
And perhaps a future war could still be prevented.
Knock.
Knock.
"General Tayin requests to speak with the Grand General."
Tayin’s voice echoed through the mansion.
After a few seconds, a calm male voice answered.
"Come in."
Click!
The door opened and Tayin stepped into the mansion.