Building An Empire Starting From The Labor Camp In Exile-Chapter 209: Revelation

Atrox sighed. "Do it, Flagbearer Takoda."

Chief Takoda straightened, his hands folded in front of him, and then he bellowed, his voice amplified by essence. It carried throughout the Core like a rumbling mountain. "I am Flagbearer Takoda, and here is Flagbearer Pomora! You are in the Borderland, standing before Commander Atrox Soryu! State your business!"

His voice fell like a hammer, and Atrox could just picture the scene in the ships. They must be speechless and looking for what to say.

’...they must have heard I am the Commander, but it is quite different when the title is said out loud like that... But I am sure they have someone in there who is good at what is expected from the Clan...’

As expected, a voice blasted out again. This time, it was not trying to be emotionless. There was amusement tainting it. "Flagbearers? We know Flagbearers, but we know no Commander and definitely not one who carries the Soryu name."

Atrox sighed. ’...bastards... So we begin...’

He made his tower fly closer to the ground, and then he came out of it together with Tiber and Slya. He turned to Takoda. "Make a platform for me."

The ground beneath him shook and firmed before it was gently yanked up, lifting him to the same height as the Flagbearers.

Slya shifted beside him. "Are we going to fight?"

Tiber put his hand on her shoulder in warning. "Probably, but we cannot do anything until Atrox gives the go-ahead. Those are not outlaws."

Tiber was a former soldier, and although he was part of the normal humans then, he knew about the Knights and how brutal they were. They were trained and not like the sloppy outlaws they had dealt with before.

Atrox nodded and then stepped forward. He spread his hands and narrowed his eyes. "Do you say you do not know this Atrox Soryu, Captain? You deny a Soryu of blood?

"I would choose my next words carefully, Captain of the Coiled Fangs."

Tiber and Slya looked at Atrox in shock. The way he spoke was not his usual self at all. His voice was infused with command, a certain form of dignity and arrogance they had never heard from him before.

The pause from the ships this time was longer. With his green eyes and long dark hair, they could not say they did not know him.

The Captain of the Coiled Fangs stood at the helm of his ship. He was trying to keep his surprise trapped beneath his face. He had been told to expect Atrox Soryu, but it still came as a surprise.

In fact, Atrox’s name had long since faded from the Clan. It was as if he was being subtly forgotten. It was only recently, when news about him started coming, that people began to remember there were actually two young masters of the Clan.

The last time they saw Atrox was when he was dragged away during the manifestation. The Captain frowned because he could not remember what Atrox did that day, but he knew he had committed a terrible crime.

The Captain opened his mouth, but Atrox beat him to it. "And tell me your name while you are at it."

The Captain stiffened, and his brown eyes narrowed. His words came out between clenched teeth. "I am Captain Orin."

Atrox raised his brows. "Captain Orin...?"

The Captain’s face shuttered. "Captain Orin, my lord."

No matter how terrible the crime Atrox had committed was, as long as he had not been stripped of his title as a young master, it was not the place of others to have a say in it. Besides, Atrox was merely exiled. Why? He did not know. 𝑓𝑟𝑒𝘦𝓌𝑒𝑏𝑛𝑜𝘷𝑒𝘭.𝒸𝘰𝑚

Atrox nodded. "That is much better."

But he was frowning slightly.

’...what in the Infernal is going on... I have been guessing this for a while now, but I am sure of it now... They do not know that I carry the Forbidden Mark... No matter how Father tried to clamp down on it, it is impossible to keep something like that under wraps... It is as if a mass memory wipe occurred... I would not put it past him, but still...’

"Well then, deliver your message," Atrox said, and despite himself, his stomach clenched tightly. He knew that now that he had made a name for himself, his father must be calling him back to court.

’...i am going to kill him, and I know it is not going to be easy, so why am I nervous...’

For a long time, his father had been a wall, a dominating mountain that had ruled his life with an iron fist and the feeling of steel. Now that he was taking his first step toward uprooting that mountain, he could not help the nervousness that flowed through him.

Captain Orin brought out a sealed envelope from his spatial ring and held it up for them to see. It was stamped with a purple serpent coiling around a helmet.

He tore it open, and immediately a pulse rippled through the air, leaving everyone with a faint trace of magic that impressed upon them that the envelope belonged to the Clan Leader of the Soryu Clan.

He held the letter up and then began to read. "As the Clan Leader of the Soryu Clan, I command all the Master Knights to return to the Clan and Kazekiri immediately."

Atrox frowned. ’...the letter is not about me?...’

"You are to leave whatever you are doing and return to the capital with immediate effect!"

Atrox shifted and grimaced.

’...how will Father take the death of three Master Knights? It is a big blow against the Clan for sure... And I am instrumental in their deaths... If only they were not trying to kill me as well...’

"And as of right now, my brother, Atrox Soryu, is stripped of his right as a Soryu and young master. He should be considered an enemy of the Soryu Clan!" Captain Orin’s voice ended smugly.

But Atrox was just staring blankly at the man. He could not properly process what he had just heard—not the fact that he was apparently no longer a Soryu, but that the letter was referring to him as ’my brother.’

He was not the only one. Shock was evident on the faces of everyone in the Borderland, but those who came with the ship were not as shocked as they should have been.