Way of the Knights

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Final Haven Kingdom, one year later after the teenagers went inside the Ancient Royal Grounds.

Within the Royal Palace, a few people gathered in the office of the Crown Prince.

One of them was of course the Crown Prince himself, Balmung Lightshield. He was sitting in front of his desk while he discussed some important matters with his guest.

There's also Old Lee who stood behind him, acting like his most loyal guard. Leona, who took the opposite side and Victor who stood beside Old Lee

Jackson was there too, speaking of him, he was just recently promoted as the Lair Hunter's Chief Director after the previous one stepped down from his position. He had been rather busy but now he mainly stayed in the kingdom, he revised some of the old rules of the Lair Hunter Code of Conduct after discussing it with the prince. In conjunction with the Sacred Leaf Tavern, they adjusted the rewards and salaries of the Lair Hunters.

Each time a Lair Hunter goes out for a mission, each person will be given the following as a 'Survival Kit': 12 bottles of Moonshine. 1 pill bottle, containing 3 Limb Restoration Pills. 1 pill bottle, containing 5 Energy Gathering Pills. 1 pill bottle, containing 5 Berserk Trigger Pill and 5 sets of Healing Salves.

That is just to make sure that they will come back in piece to their families. Those numbers will be adjusted depending on the difficulty of their mission. As for the actual reward, all of them will be Gold Compensations from here on. 

This was a welcomed change for the Lair Hunters, which in turn give them more courage to actually venture outside willingly. Since this announcements, groups of Lair Hunters started taking up missions and the results had been satisfactory. The investment was paid in full when some Lair Hunters spotted some Resource Mines not too far from the kingdom. This also allowed the kingdom to resume the expansion. 

Luis was also in the room. Of course, Eva was there too along with their new retainer, Morel and his daughter Joanna. In fact, there's even two adorable guests alongside of them.

Twin girls. Yes, Eva had given birth to two healthy and adorable girls. Both of them had black hair, curious obsidian eyes, chubby cheeks and limbs, and cheerful giggles. 

Luis and Eva named them Venina Jane and Victoria Rain or simply, Nina and Tori. Venina is 2 minutes older than Victoria.

 A pity that Raven wasn't there when they were born, he would've liked to be the one to name them. But considering his bad naming sense, maybe it was better this way. 

Just by looking at their face, it would be challenging to know which one is which. Well, they are Identical Twins after all. The only way to tell them apart is by looking at the birthmark at the back of their palms.

Venina had a birthmark that looked like a star on her right hand while Victoria had the same looking birthmark on her left hand. So far, that's the only way to tell them apart. 

Their existence was adored by the adults. Luis and Eva practically never left their side. They both teared up when they said their first word and cried when they started saying 'Mama' and 'Dada'. They were both active enough that they could now roll on their tummies by themselves and observe their surroundings. There was one thing that the twins did that almost melt the hearts of their parents. 

Neither of them would be able to sleep without the other by their side. 

The two rarely threw a tantrum, they would just make a lot of noise if they feel uncomfortable but won't cry. Unless they were separated that is. They had to make sure that they are at least within eyesight of each other or else they will kick up a fuss and won't stop until they see each other again. Whenever they sleep, they will either hold each other's hand or hug. 

The twins became instantly famous. Well, how can they not be famous? They are a Valorheart! Their father is the fearsome Luis 'The Hawk' Valorheart, and their Big Brother is the 'Young Hero' Vendrick Valorheart. Plus, twins are rarely seen in the kingdom, which even boosted their popularity amongst the grown ups. 

Even the fearsome Golden Knights weren't spared from their charm and would play with them from time to time. Even the Prince himself had fallen for their adorable giggles. Even the guards, down to the janitors of Royal Palace adores the two.

Joanna's eyes will always sparkle whenever she plays with them, she could almost pass as their big sister. She often helped Eva take care of them and one time, she was even allowed to change their diapers.

***

"…and that concludes the report, Your Highness. It seems that we should be able to aggressively push for the expansion." Jackson reported. 

His words brought some excitement to the people around. It had been too long since the last expansion.

"If we are able to succeed this time, then the nearby resources will be protected by the walls. That would speed up the gathering and ensure safety of the gatherers." Balmung added as he felt a tinge of excitement.

The rest shared the feeling with him. They can't help it, the mines and troves that the Lair Hunters found were too rich and is badly needed by the kingdom. The expansion should move according to the location of those resource troves, once those were well protected, the expansion should continue.

*Giggles* 

The meeting was distracted by the adorable giggles of the twins. The adults turned their heads towards them and couldn't help but to smile with their adorable antics.

Nina and Tori were on their tummies and waggling their hands in feet, it was like they were swimming. They were mimicking each other and find it funny so their giggles echoed around the room. 

"They're bound to return anytime soon, no?" Balmung said out of the blue.

The rest nodded at his words. It's been almost a year since they went inside, they should be returning from their training anytime soon.

"Yes, they should be." Old Lee confirmed, "I just hope that their training went well."

"Let's have faith in them." Leona chimed in, "They are strong. The challenges they will meet inside won't be able kill them, instead they will serve as an opportunity for them to grow."

"I'm confident that they will come through." The Prince smiled in anticipation, "Those kids, they're the cream of the crop. Someday, the world will be their playground."

His words then were followed by the cheerful agreement of the twins which made everyone smile.

"See? Even the girls think so too." Balmung chuckled.

The cheerful atmosphere were then interrupted by a sudden knock on the door. Balmung yelled: "Come in."

Suddenly, a frightened and visibly exhausted soldier came in. He hurriedly knelt down on one knee and said: "Urgent report from the Outer Walls, Your Highness!"

From his tone alone, Balmung's face already sank. 'This doesn't sound good.' A foreboding sense of danger crept up to his chest. He then asked: "What is it?"

"Sir! We received reports from a batch of returning Lair Hunters that they saw numerous traces of footprints, most likely belonging to Demonic Beasts." The soldier reported under heavy breaths. 

The adults felt their heart throb. The soldier then continued: "We already sent scouts to confirm this. Our men went with the Lair Hunters and confirmed that they were indeed footprints of Demonic Beasts."

"From our investigations, we saw at least 50 sets of different footprints from the southern wilderness, though this is just our estimations since all of those footprints lead towards the Red Zone and our men decided to report it first to Your Highness for further instructions."

A heavy atmosphere descended on the room. Eva's face paled as she carefully picked up her girls and kept them close to her bosom. 

The Prince's expression was somber, making the poor soldier tremble due to the heaviness of the atmosphere.

"What do you think?" The Prince turned towards the Golden Knights and asked their opinion. 

"We've been here before." Old Lee sighed, "We received reports like this during the past two years. I would like to say that this is just a false alarm but I feel like this isn't the case this time."

"If you'd excuse me, Your Highness." Jackson interjected, Balmung nodded towards him. "I would like my agents to work with the Outer Wall Guards to perform a perimeter check."

"According to this soldier, they spotted the footprints on the southern part of the wilderness. I, however want to investigate the rest of the areas, just so that we could be more prepared."

"Good idea. You have my permission to do so. As the rest, I'll trouble you to participate with the investigations as well. You can go as far as the Yellow Zone, come back here and we'll discuss about it even further to see if we will really be attacked by a Horde."

"Move out!"