Kill The Old Ones!

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The King of the Letter Kingdom summoned them...

By them, he refers to the top 10 of the City vs. City Tournament.

The summons entered the e-mails of the recipients early on a Monday morning. Nobody notified them ahead of time that it was coming, not even a whisper. The letter named them personally but also included all the names of the finalists. Their attendance is mandatory.

Ren and Lily were together when they received it.

During the past week, Lily had stayed in the clan and lived with Ren, experiencing the sweetness and the romance of their new relationship. Lily was positively glowing, and the way she adjusted to living with another person seemed so natural, as if it was always meant to happen.

Richard had been informed, not by Ren, but by his own daughter, that she will stay with him. He had no complaints with it, especially when a few days before she made the decision, Richard himself visited the Banished Arms Clan and met Ren’s family.

During the first hour alone, Richard had been convinced that Lily would be safe here. Hence, he didn’t have any complaints, especially when he learned how attentive and domestic Ren’s and Lily’s relationship had become.

Anyways...

”What do you think this is for?” She asked Ren, dismissing her e-mail after reading this three times patiently, word for word.

She already tried to guess why but hasn’t concluded anything.

”It’s probably for the next part of what’s next after the City vs. City Tournament,” he replied as he relaxed on the couch.

”But you said that there might be changes...”

”Maybe the summons were meant to address that.” He shrugged. ”Or it could be something else entirely. We’ll know once we attend; it’s not like we can refuse; it’s mandatory.”

”You’re right,” Lily pondered for a bit before agreeing with him.

The meeting was scheduled on a Tuesday afternoon. It will take place in Central City, which was convenient for Ren and Lily since they were already here.

Some might not catch that little detail, but Ren most certainly had. This meeting should’ve taken place in the Royal Palace, which is located in the Royal City (R-City).

However, because of the disappointing — nay, atrocious, performance of R-City’s representatives, the city had been punished.

Ren had seen the blogs and posts about it online; the nobles of Royal City had nearly crucified the representatives. If order hadn’t been sanctioned heavily in the city, those poor guys would’ve been exanguinated the morning after the awarding ceremony.

The punishment of the Royal City was already taking place. The citizens were already suffering, and they had to endure this for the remainder of the decade. They can’t escape from it, either.

The Royal Family, however, had been clever and made moves before the other shoe dropped. The moment they discovered half of their city’s representatives had been eliminated on the first round, they made arrangements that would take them out of the city for the next decade.

Business trips...as they’re officially called, escaping the doomed future of their city might be more accurate, though.

They made these arrangements early enough for them to be accepted since they already knew how it would end for them.

It’s not a total escape, though. The world system understood what they were trying to do. And while it may give them some privileges for their service as the Royal Family, some measure of fairness must be enforced, too.

They will have to return to the city from time to time in between their ’business trips.’ The Royal Family accepted this and didn’t push, because if they did, the world system would plainly stop giving them face.

One thing to note is that the royal family can’t stay in Central City or any city within the top five rankings. They can visit only on ’official’ business—the distinction is important here. Other than that, it would be seen as an excuse and wouldn’t be permitted.

This summons was considered ’official’ business, and thus, it could take place in Central City. Whether the royal family was allowed to stay for an extended period of time, however, was very unlikely.

This was a divergent event from the canon, by the way.

In the canon timeline, although Royal City didn’t emerge as champions, they didn’t fall to the very bottom of the rankings despite the Popular City representatives hunting their team down. Hence, they weren’t punished, and these summons took place in the Royal City instead.

Central City’s position rose a couple of places, but not enough to actually change anything. In the canon, only Adrian Arclight made it to the final round, and because the cult had grown strong and managed to infiltrate the tournament with their agents and spies, the tournament was a giant shit show, hence the low rankings.

With Ren’s presence, achievements, and the changes he made to the timeline, Adrian, Lucian, Elena, and Seraphina trained harder and were stronger. The cult was crippled, and the city’s representatives were more formidable and stable during the tournament, allowing them—except Seraphina—to reach the finals. And with Ren around, Central City rose to the top instead of hovering in the middle.

But with the changes Ren made in the timeline, even though he had never interacted with anybody from the Royal City to matter, the result changed drastically.

Fortunately, Ren had long dismissed his desire to keep the canon events as linear as he could. That was a thankless endeavor that he had given up on. This change, considering the main events that will follow after this, was, in fact, very minimal and thus hardly concerned him.

**

The top then reunited after the tournament and the afterparty...This time, they’re in the City Lord’s mansion because here is where the meeting will take place.

When they arrived, they noticed the presence of a few, but very formidable, people guarding the mansion.

’The Kingsguard.’ Ren identified them immediately.

Each one clad in white and gold cloaks with feathered helmets on. These are elites among the elite soldiers of the Royal Family—sworn to protect the King and his blood to the day they die. They are not allowed to take wives, be in relationships, own land, govern anything, or be something other than the Kingsguard—it’s a commitment for life.

Only the most desperate or deeply indebted people will sign that contract. Although they are formidable and terrifyingly strong, Ren found them pitiable.

The finalists were received by the City Lord’s secretary and were escorted to the meeting room.

When they arrived, there were already several people in there. The City Lord was there, flanked by his own people. There were also people who looked professional and wore the badge of the Grand Martial Union.

And of course, the King himself.

Petyr Lucilius Alexis III—that’s his name. He’s an old man with a broad chest, grey hair and beard, a solemn expression, and dignity befitting his royal upbringing. He exudes pressure and occupies the room subconsciously. Despite being old, even older than the City Lord himself, his back remained straight.

He wasn’t alone, of course. Aside from the Kingsguard, he was accompanied by his queen, Jessamine Wiltshire, and his three children...

Crown Prince [Robert Lucilius Alexis], Princess [Alysanne Lucilius Alexis], and young prince [Brandon Lucilius Alexis].

”Your grace!” The finalists, showing appropriate etiquette, knelt to the royal family once they entered a certain distance from them.

”Ah, if it isn’t the young heroes of my beloved kingdom!” The king smiled on his chair.

The heavy and dignified air surrounding him dissipated. Instead, he exuded an eased and gentle atmosphere that warmed up the room and made the finalists comfortable.

The corners of Ren’s lips twitched in surprise, but he hurriedly hid it. Deep down, he was surprised, not because of the sudden switch of the king’s mood, but because he comprehended how he did that.

Yes, his unparalleled comprehension has been triggered by whatever the king did, and since it only works on martial arts, that means that whatever the king used was martial arts. And Ren now knows how to do it.

’That’s so weird.’ He groaned in his heart.

”Rise and be at ease, children. You weren’t summoned because you’re in trouble or being punished. Take a seat and be comfortable.”

With his permission, the finalists stood up and found seats for themselves. Of course, Ren was sitting next to Lily.

”Right, before we begin, allow me to introduce my family to you since they don’t make as much of an appearance as I do...”

The king then jovially introduced his family to them one by one, starting from Queen Jessamine to his youngest, Prince Brandon.

Queen Jessamine wore a small smile and a placid expression. She was calm and occupied her position next to her husband without screaming for attention or competing for it.

Prince Robert looked like a younger version of King Petyr, but more graceful. Princess Alysanne was just her mother, albeit younger. And young Prince Brandon was a mix of both.

Seeing them in person, Ren sighed and was once again reminded of how much changes he already caused in the timeline.

Because if the canon were to be followed, the Queen and the Young Prince wouldn’t be here. They’d be hostages of the cult, used to coerce and force the hand of the king.