Blades of The Fallen Realm

CHPT 7

The Chief Master of the Global Sovereign Trust walked slowly into the bright room. Heavy black armor clanked loudly on the polished floor as a hundred imperial guards followed right behind him. In his old, steady hands, the Chief Master held a bright dark gold leather scroll.

It was the absolute deed that controlled every single shop, hall, and trade house in the entire city. Every noble in the hall held their breath, too afraid to even make a sound. Their eyes were wide as they watched the grand master walk straight toward the stage.

Julian smiled huge, straightening his fine blue robes and puffing out his chest. He took three fast steps forward with his arms wide open to greet the powerful old man. "Welcome, great Chief Master!" Julian shouted proudly with a very deep bow.

"The Vance family and the Sterling family welcome you with wide open arms! We are so honored to have you here today!" Clara added quickly, bowing her head down low with a huge smile. "Our hall is yours, Lord Master!"

The Chief Master did not even look at Julian's smiling face. He walked right past Julian's open arms like he was nothing but a ghost in the cold air. Julian froze in place, his big smile turning stiff and silly as the master stepped right past him.

Clara’s eyes went wide with pure shock as she watched the old man move. The Chief Master stopped right in front of the high wooden stage. His eyes locked directly onto Leo, who was standing there in torn clothes holding a heavy tray.

Without saying a single word, the powerful Chief Master bent his body down ninety degrees. He bowed deeply toward Leo in front of hundreds of watching nobles! He held up a glowing gold dragon key with both hands, offering it toward the quiet boy.

The entire grand hall fell into absolute, terrifying silence. "What is he doing?!" a fat lord in the front row whispered in total horror. "Why is the grand master bowing to a filthy servant?!"

Leo’s heart jumped in his chest as panic hit his mind like cold ice. If his hidden identity was revealed right now, his blind father and little sister would be killed by enemies. Leo acted fast and threw his body forward in a clumsy, sloppy mess!

He kicked a heavy wooden cleaning bucket sitting near his feet on the edge of the stage. A full bucket of dirty, greasy dishwater tipped right over the edge. The dark brown water poured all over the Chief Master’s shiny, expensive black leather boots!

"Oh no! I am so sorry, Lord Master!" Leo screamed out frantically, dropping his rag and falling onto his knees. "I am so clumsy! I was just wiping the stage floor! Please do not beat me, Master!"

Leo apologized loudly, slamming his forehead against the floor boards. "I am just a stupid servant! Please spare my pathetic life!" The Chief Master froze for a tiny second, reading the desperate warning in Leo’s eyes.

He instantly understood that his great lord was keeping his identity strictly hidden. The old master pulled his foot back quickly and put on a very angry face. He cleared his throat loudly, making his deep voice ring out like heavy iron.

"You blind, clumsy fool!" the Chief Master barked loudly, pointing his finger at Leo. "How dare a low servant splash dirty water on my imperial boots! I came up to this stage to look at the grand family emblem carved on the wall behind you!"

"And you ruin my clothes!" Julian let out a huge sigh of relief, his pale face suddenly turning bright red with wild rage. He rushed forward and kicked Leo hard right in the side!

"Get off the stage, you dirty live-in trash!" Julian screamed angrily, kicking Leo down the wooden steps. "You almost got our entire house executed today!" "You useless worm!" Clara yelled, running over to kick dirty water onto Leo’s torn pants.

"He was bowing to our proud Sterling family emblem carved on the wall! How dare you think a grand lord would ever look at a beggar like you!" Clara spat on the floor right near Leo’s shaking, bleeding hands.

"Get out of our sight!" "Forgive this brainless dog, Chief Master!" Julian said quickly, bowing fifty times to the old man. "He is just a pathetic beggar who lives in our shed!"

"He does not represent us at all!" Clara cried out with a nervous smile. "We will beat him severely when we get back home tonight, Lord Master!" The Chief Master looked down at Leo lying in the dirt, then looked at Julian with cold eyes.

"Keep your dirty servants away from my sight," the master said coldly. The Chief Master turned around on his heel and walked out of the hall with his guards. Julian and Clara laughed meanly, watching Leo crawl across the floor to pick up his coin.

Late that dark night, far away from the bright banquet hall, a secret meeting was happening. Deep under the city, inside a cold, black stone vault, heavy candles burned low. Lord Vance, Julian’s powerful father, sat at a long iron table with a pale face.

Sweat poured down his forehead as he stared at a stack of bad news reports. Sitting across from him was the Chief of the Shadow Intelligence Guild, dressed in a dark hood. The hooded man played with a sharp knife, his eyes cold and dark.

"All of our shipping lines at the northern border have been blocked," Lord Vance said, his voice shaking with deep fear. "Every single ship is stuck at sea!" "Our luxury trade is dead," the shadow chief replied in a low, raspy whisper.

"And the Grand Dragon Merchant Hall was bought for five hundred million gold." "Who has that kind of endless money?!" Lord Vance slammed his fists onto the heavy iron table in pure rage. "Who is doing this to my family in the dark?!"

"There is a terrifying shadow entity operating in this city right now," the shadow chief whispered, leaning his dark hood forward. "Only one power can do this." "Who?!" Lord Vance gasped out, his old eyes wide with deep terror.

"Tell me right now!" "Could it be... the legendary exiled Dragon Prince from the Capital?" the shadow chief asked in a cold breath. "The one who commands the Global Sovereign Trust?"

Lord Vance’s face went as white as a dead ghost, his hands trembling violently on the table. "The Dragon Prince?! But why would a grand ruler come to our small city?!" "He must be hiding here," the shadow chief said, looking around the dark room carefully.

"This mastermind is not just some random beggar on the street," the shadow chief muttered while narrowing his dark eyes. "It would be an influential person that really knows us very well from the inside." "They must understand every single part of our trade network to strike us this hard."

Lord Vance frowned deeply as he thought about his son's recent complaints. "Could it be that live-in boy in the Sterling house? Leo Vance?" "...because I have been hearing some strange things about him lately and I have been suspecting his movement since then."

The shadow chief stared at Lord Vance for a moment before shaking his head. He let out a loud and mocking laugh at the thought of a live-in servant. "That useless dog could never orchestrate a multi-million-gold financial strike."

"My spies watched him at the banquet tonight! He was weeping on his knees over a single copper coin! He cried like a baby while Julian kicked him in front of everyone!" The shadow chief laughed loudly.

"He is just a brainless servant who begs for bread!" "You are right," Lord Vance breathed out a long sigh, shaking his head at his own silly thought. "A grand king would never pick up a copper coin from the dirt."

"We will find the real Dragon Prince," the shadow chief said, stabbing his sharp knife into the iron table. "And we will bow to him before he destroys us." Far away from the dark vault, Leo walked slowly down the narrow, muddy alleyway.

The cold night wind howled softly, blowing rain off the old wooden roofs. He pushed open the squeaky door of the small, dark shed and stepped inside quietly. A tiny oil lamp burned softly on a broken wooden stool in the corner.

Old Thomas lay on a thin straw bed, breathing smoothly and deeply in his warm sleep. The red Crimson Snow Lotus had completely healed his dark, painful fever. Beside him lay little eight-year-old Lily, curled up under a thin, torn blanket.

Her tiny face was still wet with dried tears from the scary rain earlier today. Leo knelt down gently beside his small sister on the cold dirt floor. He pulled his dirty sleeve up and softly wiped the dry tears from her small, pale cheek.

"I am here, Lily," Leo whispered in a voice so soft it was like a quiet feather. "No one will ever hurt you or Father again. I promise you." He pulled the blanket up to cover her cold shoulders, making sure she was warm and safe.

He stood up slowly, looking at his sleeping family for a long time. Leo turned around and stepped back out of the shed, closing the creaky wooden door behind him. He walked into the middle of the empty, dark yard under the bright moonlight.

The painful, tearful expression on his face completely vanished into the dark night. His soft eyes turned into two ice-cold, sharp swords filled with absolute, grand power. He pulled out the small, hidden satellite phone from his pocket and pressed a single button.

The screen glowed with a bright blue light in the dark yard. "Speak," Leo commanded in a low, heavy voice that sounded like a terrifying, grand god. "Your Imperial Majesty..." a deep, respectful voice came through the speaker.

"Phase One of your city takeover is complete. What are your orders, Lord Dragon?"