The guard was a man who appeared to be in his mid to late thirties with short bright yellow hair and piercing violet eyes. He wore a full set of black and silver leather gear with golden trims, and near the left chest area of the leather armor was the symbol of a golden shield. This symbol represented those who were a part of the Order of the Eternal Aegis.
Unlike the other guards, this person was the only one located directly next to the first magic barrier. And, it was the one person whose strength Izroth was unable to fully grasp with his Energy Vision Sense among the guards present.
However, Izroth was sure of one thing—this person was in an entirely different league than the other gate guards present.
NPC Name: Order of the Eternal Aegis, Prime Eques Aurelius(???)
NPC Level: ???
“Of all people to run into, it just had to be this guy.” Ranazera thought to herself as she tried her best to hide her troubled expression.
Aurelius—a person who held the title of Prime Eques. This meant that among those stationed at the Gates of Aegis, he was second only to the Order of the Eternal Aegis’ Head.
However, Aurelius was the last person Ranazera had hoped to come across at the Gates of Aegis.
It was well known that the Order of the Eternal Aegis’ Head did not attend to matters regarding the Gates of Aegis unless it was under imminent threat. Therefore, it was often seen by outsiders that Prime Eques Aurelius was the one truly in charge of overseeing the Gates of Aegis.
Officially, Aurelius held the rank of Prime Eques under the Order of the Aegis’ Head. But, before he joined the Order of the Aegis, he had already received the rank of First File!
While Aurelius’ ability was certainly nothing to scoff at, it was not the reason why Ranazera wanted to avoid this person. Rather, it had to do with his eccentric personality. It was to the point rumors had circulated that he was pushed away from serving under his previous First Prefect due to his unpredictable nature.
There was even one rumor that said upon visiting a remote village, a young man accidentally brushed past Aurelius, slightly touching him with his left hand.
After that incident occurred, Aurelius ordered the soldiers of his Legion to cut off the young man’s left hand.
But, if the problem ended there, it would not have spread any further than the ranks of the Legion.
Once the young man’s left hand was severed, Aurelius then ordered his soldiers to sever the left hand of all who carried the same blood as that young man. He also put out a decree that whenever another person was born with the same blood as that young man, at birth, the child would have their left hand severed.
It was said that when the First Prefect, who Aurelius served under at the time, caught wind of this, they were absolutely furious. However, since Aurelius had a powerful backing, the First Prefect’s hands were tied.
Ultimately, the most they could do was send him off to the Gates of Aegis. After all, it was rumored that the Order of the Aegis’ Head was actually a member of the royal family. But, since very few people knew of the head’s true identity, this was never confirmed by the public.
In the end, despite his eccentric behavior, Aurelius found his way into the Order of the Aegis.
So far, there had been no massive incident since his arrival. Though this was to be expected given the strict nature of the Order.
Though if he were part of a minor noble family and forget joining the Order of the Aegis, his family would have long been erased by the vengeful trail of enemies Aurelius left in his wake.
Fortunately for him, he was a member of the Windstorm family.
The Windstorm family’s power in Tempest was only second to that of the royal family. And, in some ways, it was considered equal.
This had to do with the fact that the current head of the Windstorm family held the seat as one of the only two members of the Tempest Council.
Since those on the Council represented the will of the noble families, it naturally meant that the Windstorm family held a lot of power and influence in Tempest. This was more than enough to bury and cover up the countless “mishaps” caused by Aurelius and silence those who dared to even dream of speaking out.
As Aurelius doubled down on Ranazera’s identity, the sixth princess was unsure how to respond to him.
Should she order him to keep quiet about this? No, this was Aurelius Windstorm. It was more likely that he would cause a scene just because it seemed like an amusing thing to do.
“I do not wish to deal with this man, but… It may be too late. I have to think of something.” Ranazera thought to herself as her mind raced.
“And, who’s this? I don’t remember such a person ever being a part of your personal guard, princess. My, we aren’t sneaking off and eloping somewhere, are we? Although that would be quite entertaining if that were true-” The aura around Aurelius suddenly shifted as his cold gaze landed on Izroth.
He then continued, “I would have to cut him down him and escort her royal highness back to the royal palace.”
Simultaneously, Aurelius’ killing intent swept out in full force as it crashed into Izroth.
Izroth maintained a calm but distant expression as he was bombarded by Aurelius’ unbridled killing intent.
‘What a terrible killing intent.’
Izroth was not intimidated by Aurelius’ killing intent. What he meant by terrible was not its strength but rather that it had a certain darkness to it that was typically only present in those who found joy in the agony of others.
Without a doubt, this person had committed countless atrocities.
This was not the first time Izroth had come across this kind of person. When it came to dealing with someone like Aurelius, it was both the easiest and most problematic thing to do. This was because there was no true logic behind their actions. But, strangely enough, they were also the type to follow their heart in the moment.
‘It seems there will have to be a small change of plans.’
In truth, Izroth was somewhat surprised by Ranazera’s reaction. It appeared that she did not look favorably upon Aurelius and would rather be taken as a political hostage than deal with him.
That being said, Izroth understood that if Ranazera had wanted to attempt an escape, now would be the perfect time to do so right under the Gates of Aegis. But, if that happened, Izroth would be sure to keep his word and see that the right price was paid.
“How arrogant,” Izroth said as he stepped in front of Ranazera with an unshakable gaze.
“Oh?” Aurelius narrowed his eyes as he observed Izroth.
Just now, he used his killing intent to test him, but it seemed to have no effect whatsoever. At the very least, he believed the person before him had some skill and battle experience.
As for Izroth, he knew it was too late to feign total ignorance and could not afford to play along as he did with the gate guard who checked his identity plate. Therefore, he decided to take a different path.
Ranazera, on the other hand, was baffled by Izroth’s decision to confront Aurelius.
Could it be that he was unaware of this Aurelius’ identity?
Not to mention, this was the Gates of Aegis, where his word was practically the law! If Izroth caused any trouble here, it would not take long for the Order of the Aegis to rain down a swift judgment upon him!
“If a fight breaks out here while I’m in my current state, then…” Ranazera contemplated as she inwardly furrowed her brows.
Meanwhile, Izroth’s words caused a playful grin to form on Aurelius’ face. Though the look in his eyes remained unchanged.
“Me? Arrogant? Strange—no one has ever called a member of the Windstorm family arrogant before today. Do you know why that is? It’s not that they can’t; it’s because they don’t dare to.” Aurelius said as he unsheathed his sword and pointed it toward Izroth.
