Hero of Darkness

Kahn sat in his office as he reveled in his recent silent victories. The clients he poached were going to officially start their deal in the upcoming weeks while ditching their old contracted guilds after learning the truth about how they were being scammed till this point. 

And there's nothing the mercenary association or those guilds could do about it. Thus, Kahn used the truth as his sword to slay the competition without shedding a single drop of blood. 

As far as the ire of those said guilds went… Kahn and the company were already experienced enough to deal with such matters during their days as a weapon manufacturing company in Rathna and his time as Sovereign of Verlassen. 

The most decisive factor was always Strength. 

The one with the biggest fist was righteous and honest while the weak were evil and treacherous. This was how things worked I'm this world. 

Kahn had Ronin already investigate the people they were going to steal the business from and thus he approached the clients based on whom they can afford to offend. 

Other than the reputable 12 Valkyries guild, none could stand toe to toe against them. And if anyone tried to harm their guild members or the saint… Kahn intended to leak the information about how they dealt with the LNP guild. This would be a warning that most could not dare to test if it was true or not. 

All of this was achieved in just 1 month while others would've taken years or maybe even a decade to accomplish.

And this was how Kahn reached the final stages to establish themselves so quickly that even their possible rivals wouldn't get a chance to react. 

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3 Days Later. 

An envoy of a powerful tribe arrived at the main headquarters, escorted by a thousand soldiers and luxurious carriages. 

Step! 

Step! 

Over a dozen people walked out of these carriages and soon, the numerous servants carrying yellow banners with a rising sun behind a mountain etched into them stood on both sides as the hooded figures walked slowly in a straight line. 

On the receiving side, Legolas and Dante stood at the front as hosts and escorted this group of guests in gray and golden robes to the main meeting room. 

Finally, after everything settled and the mood for the meeting was set… the important discussion began. 

The leader of this group and the people behind him finally revealed their faces. 

The species these guests belonged to was called Lukion. 

A physical appearance matching with humans but having completely white eyes with no iris in them. The entire body of these Lukions was made of dark gray metal. 

Their kind had tall stature, every member being at least 2 meters in height while their slender but strong bodies moved slowly compared to normal humans. 

Kahn had learned about this species during his information-gathering days about the Zivot Empire. 

In the social hierarchy, Lukions stood at the 4th spot, below only Elves, Humans, and Demi-Humans.

Unlike the 3 species, their bodies were made of solid metal and their eyes were no different than white glass. Even the silver hair of these beings were as hard as steel threads and the entire species was greatly valued and treasured in the Elven empire. 

In their stomach, was a glowing purple orb as if it was an in-built lantern in their bodies. 

Although they lacked speed and weren't adept in practicing mana, having the least amount of saints in their species, all Lukions were extremely strong ever since birth because of their bodies. 

If a newborn Lukion infant was shot in the head… the bullet wouldn't even scratch their skin. This was the reason nobody dared to make an enmity of this species. 

In the Elven Empire… the Elves were only prominent in Magic and fighting classes because of their natural affinity with mana and world energy. 

They also excelled in Artificing. 

Humans were Jack of All Trades but they never had any specialty. 

Demi-Humans also had advantages but they also differed based on their respective species. 

But Lukions… were no different than Dwarves of the Vulcan Empire. 

Why? 

Because in the Zivot Empire… all the arms, weapons, massive warships and tools were made by the Lukions. 

This species had inborn control and affinity with metals and ores. Coupled with their immense strength, they overwhelmingly ruled the Smithing and Forging trade in this empire. 

Kahn had learned from the history books that Lukions were actually descendants of a variant species birthed from Humans and Bewkla, the latter species being extinct at this point. 

Lukion species evolved from time to time on their own in the past 10 thousand years and now they resemble humans. 

But still, they would not associate themselves with any other species and lived in their own tribes across the empire. 

"I am Orion Grayborne, leader of the Grayborne tribe." introduced the leader himself. 

Even the voice of this individual sounded like rusted metal rods rubbing against each other. 

Legolas nodded in return and asked. 

"How may I be of service to your tribe." 

"Sir Legolas, we are in need of your people's strength, especially from your Saint commanders." spoke Orion and explained their situation. 

The Grayborne tribe owned a vast territory outside the southern-eastern side of Alfheim. Their lands being full of ores and cores that were important in forging most of the high-quality weapons and armors. The Grayborne clan itself was one of the top 3 arms dealers in the 500 kilometers perimeter thanks to their species specialty. 

However, their lands had a misfortune… they were surrounded by 3 dungeons. Among which, one was a High-Tier Dungeon, the big one of their kind. 

Even the Adventurers in that region had failed to conquer them ever since they were formed hundreds of years ago. 

But every year, due to dungeon outbreaks when the mana was overly saturated and the dungeon expelling all of its monsters to start anew… there were annual monster tides in their region. 

Given the large scale of this monster army… it was a type of battle that not many people could stand against even with numbers because the monsters had the territorial advantage. 

The loss of life has been great and even many mercenary guilds no longer accepted the job because the losses greatly dwarf the gains. 

"I see. Then you don't need many Saints. 

We have one person who can defend your lands all by himself." declared the elf confidently. 

Legolas then summoned one of his commanders who was possibly the best in their group to complete this job. 

A tall 2 meter figure walked in, clad in brown armor and a massive battleaxe and a shield on his back. 

"This is… Sigurd Suttungr." introduced Legolas proudly. 

This was finally the time for this subordinate who had been busy lately to complete his training in Blacksmithing skills. The one to take charge of this task alone was none other than… 

Blackwall, the Titan General.