Chapter 33: A Reason To Join

"We won't participate," Nathan delivered the final answer, agreed upon silently by him and the cabinet, causing Kron to suck in a deep breath.

'The duke anticipated this… It seems the only option left is the other route.'

"But are you sure, Lord Nathan?" Kron asked one more time, hoping to swindle them into agreeing. "I know you know this, but may I remind you that there are ten towns in the western region, including the Armstrong Duchy, and they all have abundant resources. Especially the Duchy.

If you win the tournament, you'll have access to our low-level dimensional rift and even get to keep 50 percent of everything that comes from the rift."

"Even though it's just a level higher than the one in the Luminary Forest, we all know the big difference between the two. Perhaps you're too hasty in your decision. Why don't you take some more time to consider my proposal? Until then, I'll camp outside the town."

Gaining the resources of all ten towns in the western region was truly beneficial for the Cromwell Barony. What they currently lacked were resources and Beast Items—the weapons and accessories dropped in dimensional rifts or forged by the blacksmith using beast cores and other materials.

Nathan believed that the appearance of the dimensional rift in his territory would solve this problem.

However, he couldn't help but become slightly greedy. No, it wasn't only him. Naturally, all of them entertained the thought because if they could pull in all the resources from the other towns, the Cromwell Barony would become so powerful that they could be upgraded to a count officially.

The Armstrong Duchy would just be a mere name; they would be the ones calling the shots in the western region. The other towns wouldn't have any choice but to comply with their every demand. If not, the king himself would be forced to deal with them.

"Clever," said Elvin, the seasoned archer, considering all this. "But our decision is final."

They clearly didn't have any promising children to participate, except for a few who attended the Four Witch Academy in the Royal Capital.

But those children could only take them so far.

"It's not worth it. You know I don't like you. Seeing your mere face irritates me, so do yourself a favor before I personally kick you out of my territory." Nathan glared at Kron, who trembled involuntarily from that single look.

He knew he had really offended Nathan. The only reason he was still alive was because of the protection of the medal given to him by the duke.

Bowing his head slightly, he was about to leave when a series of loud knocks suddenly assaulted the door. A moment later, the door burst open, and a man rushed inside.

"My Lord, there is a problem. Your grandchildren are in danger!" Searᴄh the NôvelFire.nёt website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

"My grandchildren?"

"Nox and Nyx?" Aina also jumped to her feet.

***

The group rushed over to the marketplace, and indeed what the man had reported was true. From what they were seeing, he had somehow downplayed everything.

Here and there, citizens were groaning on the cobblestone streets—women, men, and children. In the middle, Nox and Nyx were knocked half-unconscious, their faces bloody and unrecognizable.

"Enough!" Nathan's angry voice boomed throughout the entire town; the shock sent Hendrix flying back like a broken kite, and he slammed into a table full of tomatoes and other vegetables.

"Nox, Nyx!" Aina quickly rushed over and squatted beside the bloody figures of her children. She felt a stinging pain in her chest when she saw their miserable sight. It took all her willpower not to shed a tear.

In the end, however, one escaped her eyes.

'Giving birth had made me soft.'

"Celine!" Seeing that Aina was too emotional, Nathan shouted.

"I'm already on it."

Because among everyone, the twins were the most brutally beaten and were children of the Baron, she first attended to them, casting a healing spell on them. It managed to cover up the wounds, but the blood remained, and they remained unconscious. It would take some hours or even days before they regained consciousness.

One thing was evident, though.

The attacker had gone all out as if he wanted to kill them.

It was a very daring thing to do.

While Celine attended to the children, Aina had gotten up and started heading toward the place Hendrix had landed. She easily grabbed him by the neck and lifted him as if he weighed nothing.

She clenched the boy's throat so tight that Hendrix was now struggling to breathe.

"Stop!" Kron shouted and rushed over. However, Aina's hand, lightning fast, shot toward his neck, and he was lifted up.

Kron didn't even know when she'd grabbed him. Her reflexes were just too good.

"How dare you hurt my children?" She ignored Kron, who was protesting, kicking the air, and glared at the white-haired boy.

"That's the son of Duke Felix, Hendrix Armstrong. Lay a finger on him, and I swear you and this shithole would cease to exist," Kron hurriedly said when he noticed the killing intent emitting from Aina's body. She was dead serious about killing the boy.

But even after his warning, she showed no sign of stopping soon.

"We'll see about that," Aina said, but just then she saw the gaze of her father-in-law, who simply shook his head. With an angry expression on her face, she released the two, and they plopped to the ground.

Aina excused herself from the stunned crowd and followed Celine and Gordon, who were taking the children and Fluffington to the town clinic.

The citizens were shocked by what they witnessed. They knew there was something unusual about Aina, but because she always behaved like a noble lady, they never considered her to be someone strong—strong enough to deal with an insanely strong kid who even bested the adults.

Only a few who knew Aina's heritage weren't surprised.

One such person was Eve. Those beautiful ruby eyes lingered on the departing back of Aina before they returned to Nathan.

"I think we've had enough," he said. "We've remained too passive for a long time now. The Cromwell Barony will join the tournament!"

Nathan knew that the best way to take revenge was through the tournament. Since it was still five years until the fight, he was confident in nurturing all the kids with the resources they'll get from the dimensional rift so that they'll be able to compete in the tournament and bring glory to the Barony.

Although he didn't consult them, everyone present also agreed.

If they wanted to erase this shame, then they'd have to repay the Armstrong Duchy a thousandfold.

'Eve, I hope you can put aside past grudges against my son and help me with this,' Nathan thought, looking at the red-eyed woman. If there was anyone that could help Nox master his class, it was without a doubt...Eve.