Chapter 175 - He Is Back!

(At The Heart Palace)

Ben and Jason were both huffing loudly, as Ben's hands were transformed to block Jason's attacks. He looked at him and the room that now had a lot of cracks on the walls, with some of them even beginning to fall off.

"Good work. You have now begun to learn to control your strength, and you can release it depending on the opponent. You still need more practice, but I think this should do it for now", he said with a huff.

Jason nodded his head with a smile and he looked back around the room. He saw the mess he had made and was now being more careful in controlling his power. 

"If this is just a fraction of the power that I have received, then I wonder how much stronger I will be when I have received the full powers?", he thought as he looked back at his hands that were more covered in Lion's hair.

"Can I transform back into my form?", he thought when a voice sounded in his head. 

"No, you can not. Your DNA has not yet been merged completely, and the process is still ongoing. At most, you must remain in this state for the next six hours", said the voice. It was none other than The Sphinx.

He smiled as he thought of her, and the way she was looking after him was also something that he didn't expect. But he didn't want to lose this strength, as this was something that he had achieved after losing most of his memories of his past life.

"After I gain the strength to defend myself, I will leave on the journey to discover my past. I have been having some weird dreams lately, and I wonder if these are all connected", were his thoughts as he felt a slap on his back.

"Come on, don't be gloomy. You are doing well, considering how I went on a rampage when I first transformed", he chuckled. There was a slight sorrow that Jason could see in his eyes, but then a sound interrupted them from proceeding their conversation further.

"There is someone here that says that they are a part of this kingdom and requests an audience with the King. What should we do?", asked the man at the end of the speaker. 

Ben pondered on who it would be that had come to look for him in the middle of the war. He thought it could be Lucas and decided to meet him outside, as that would save him and the others some time.

He and Jason left the room and ran towards the front gate, and there were four people standing with cloaks and conical hats on their heads. While behind them were a few men that had come along with them.

The four people that were standing with cloaks exuded a fierce Aura, and Ben felt some similarity with the Aura. A man and Woan lowered their hats from their heads and stood without uttering a single word.

"Is that really you? Zeph and Max, are you guys back?", he said as he walked past all the guards that were standing in front of him.

The army officers that were standing in front of him placed their hands on his chest and pushed him back. One of them began to warn him, and the look in Ben's eyes turned cold.

"Your Majesty, this is a time of war. They might be enemies, we are not sure, so I advise you not to approach them", said the Army Officer that had his hand on Ben's chest. The moment he saw the look in Ben's eyes, something inside him made him regret his actions.

"Are you saying that I, Benjamin Heart, cannot identify my own kids?", he asked in a menacing tone. The Officer backed down the moment he heard the sentence and stumbled on his own foot to the ground.

Zephyr and Maxine both walked towards Ben and hugged him. He hugged them back and tears began to roll down his eyes. He looked at the other two that were standing there with a smile on their faces, and he nodded his head towards them.

After a few more minutes of the embrace, they let go of each other and walked back into the palace. Ben began to explain the plan that Lucas had given them, and how it was being executed. 

"It seems like we will not have any work until the ambush has been cleared up. And there are still two hours down on the clock, isn't it? Maybe we should wrap it up with the manpower that I have brought here", said Zephyr. 

He dispatched his men towards the direction Lucas and the others were fighting, and began to talk with Ben, and introduced him to Vanessa. He looked at her and then at the stomach that was slightly bulging out.

"Is she...", he dragged out the words. Zephyr nodded his head with a smile, and Ben was once more into an emotional turmoil. 

"I am going to become a grandpa", he said with excitement. Martha was still in the room that was covered with ice, and she was keeping in check with Ben's vitals. She nodded her head as she saw that he was not in any kind of danger, and was on the lookout from the top of the tower.

Ben smiled as they chatted leisurely, and looked at the countdown that was running down. "Hope everyone is doing fine", he thought as he looked back at his son and daughter who had come back home after a very long time.

(Main Entrance 2, Underground City)

There were a lot of bodies surrounding the place that Lucas was standing, and the others were in a similar position as him. Sally was in a humanoid state, while Kate and Robert were panting hard. 

Brandishing and flicking the blood off his blade, Robert walked towards Lucas and sat on the ground. Kate was exhausted and needed some shut-eye. Sally was drained, and the most she needed right now was food. 

Lucas was the most drained out of everyone, but luckily with Valentine just finishing the last steps of his Aura Circulation, he had stabilized his core and was now a Third Stage Aura User. 

Everyone's weapons were blunt, and the enemies were coming again. He needed to make sure that they were now held back, and Leon and the other were doing the best they can to keep the majority of the people from coming inside. 

Lucas pulled up his stats. 

[Status]

[Name: Lucas Heart]

[HP: 350/350] 

[MP: 350/350]

[Level: 24]       

[Job: None]

[Title: Defying The Odds, Master Of Stealth, The Schemer (inactive), Master Tactician (inactive)]

[EXP: 29,620/40,000]

[Accumulated EXP: 125,650]

[System Level: 3/10]

[Strength: 70]

[Stamina: 70]

[Agility: 70+28]

[Perception: 70]

[Magic: 70]

[Stat points to be used: 23]

He was pondering on what to do to make sure everyone got the rest they needed so badly. He was sure he could take some out with the magic spells he cast, and he looked at the three of them.

"No shuteye, but I will allow you to recover your strength. We will be needing it soon. There are only a few hours until the attack hits the Kingdom. Be ready", he said as he stood in front of the three of them. 

Robert refused to rest, and he switched with his spirit, Sarah. The both of them stood next to each other, and Lucas knew that he had gone back to recover his strength inside his body. 

They both nodded their heads and pulled out their swords, and the way they were looking around was wary. Lucas cast an Icicle and a man was frozen in the spot. Sarah, using Robert's body, jumped forward and cut across his head.

A head was rolling on the ground, and he looked around again. Ever since his perception hit 70, he was perceptive to all kinds of movements and sounds. He could hear anything within 300 meters around him, and if he focused, he could expand it to 500 meters around him. 

That would need his utmost concentration, and he would be left vulnerable. It was something he tested out when they were fewer enemies, but the range for him right now was pretty handy as that was the same they had to protect.

"Lives are to be protected and cherished, and for that, I will kill these people who are trying to disturb the things that our family has accomplished for a lot of years", he thought.

He was thinking of a way to counter the invasion now, as he had placed measures to seal up the Underground City and save the people that were trapped inside. If push came to shove, he had a backup plan.

Right after killing them, a transmission came from Leon, informing him that there were more people that had vowed to join them, and he was skeptical as to who had sent them.

"They say that they were sent by Zephyr Heart", said Leon with a shaky voice. Lucas and Kate both fell to their knees the moment they heard the name that Leon had said to them. 

"He is back!", they both exclaimed at the same time.