Chapter 601 - 597: Invitation

Ryder stepped inside the hall where Rale was practicing to see Rale staring at him. 

"Is something wrong?" Ryder asked, wondering if Rale was stunned because of his different aura and looks. 

"Your Majesty? Is that you?" Rale exclaimed, stunned. 

"Who else could it be if not me?" Ryder asked, waving his Moon Scythe in the air. 

"I'm lost practicing my new aura skill. I need to stay in this aura for quite some time to master this skill. Same for my disguise skills. Anyways, how's everything going?" he asked Rale after giving a short explanation. 

Rale was still stunned as he found it strange and unfamiliar, but he understood that it was Ryder. Despite that, he still decided to take the test. 

"Everything's going good. I was just training my men," Rale answered.

"By the way, Your Majesty. Have you looked at the documents I gave you a few days ago? What are your thoughts about that? Should we go forward with that?" He further inquired.

"Documents? Why don't I remember something like that?" Ryder inquired, frowning. "If I'm not wrong, last time, you only gave me a letter of appreciation from the citizens. There was no plan for that. Or did I misunderstand?"

"Ah, maybe I misunderstood. It's fine. Don't worry about it," Rale let out, smiling wryly. "I think I forgot to give you the documents."

He was pleased to know that Ryder knew it. He was the real person. 

"What are these documents about? Is something happening in our Empire?" Ryder inquired, still not understanding. 

"It's about increasing the number of the Royal Guards. I have that plan ready for the new recruitment. That's what I was planning to give you," Rale answered. 

"Ah, those things? You can handle them to the best of your abilities. I'll support whatever proposal you have created," Ryder informed Rale, smiling. 

"By the way, don't stop for me. You can continue your training. Wait, not that I think about it; let me get some action too. I also want to practice with you. I've always delayed it for reasons you might not understand, but I think today I'm free. Let's have a practice battle," he continued, suggesting a battle with Rale. 

Rale always had a misconception that Ryder was strong while only Ryder knew the reality. 

But there was also the fact that he actually didn't know Rale's strength. 

He had believed that Rale was probably a level thousand NPC, but now he knew that he was wrong. Rale wasn't an NPC. Moreover, he might not actually be level thousand. He might even be stronger. 

"Battle?" Rale asked, surprised. He never expected he would get to battle Ryder. 

"We shouldn't. It would be bad if I accidentally harmed you," Rale sternly refused. 

"Come on! There's literally no chance of you hurting me! Do you really think I'm that weak? Don't worry about it. I am strong enough to protect myself," Ryder insisted. 

" On the other hand, if you don't fight me, I would think that you probably think that I'm weak. Do you really want that message to go out that a General refused to fight the King in a training battle in fear of hurting the weak king? Is that the respect you have for me?" He ultimately asked.

"N-not at all!" Rale firmly replied. "I just... Fine. I accept."

"That's better. I don't want you to go easy at me at all. Give it your best," Ryder further stated as he raised his Scythe as if challenging Rale.

"Miku, you can signal the start of the battle,"

Miku nodded. 

"Shall I go first?" Rale asked Ryder. Even though he didn't want to attack Ryder, it was good manners to attack first since it showed that the opponent was strong. Rale didn't want to insult Ryder by asking him to go first. 

"Go ahead," Ryder said, smiling. The Moon Scythe returned to a bracelet that wrapped around his wrist. 

"Start!" Miku signaled the start of the battle. 

As soon as the battle began, Rale's figure flickered as he appeared in front of Ryder, punching Ryder's fist. 

Ryder didn't even bother to dodge as he gently raised his fist, catching the attack of Rale easily. 

 "Is that your best?" He asked Rale, shaking his head in disappointment. 

"This attack was even weaker than the attack of Draco alone, let alone the attacks of six god-sons combined. 

Rale seemed surprised, but at the same time, he seemed as if he partially expected that his attack would be stopped so easily since he knew Ryder was strong. 

Ryder grabbed the wrist of Rale, tossing him to the side. 

Rale landed on his feet, far away from Ryder, looking back. 

"Come on! Show me the strength of my General! Is that the strength you can muster up?" Ryder asked Rale, disappointed. 

"Why aren't you using your true strength? Are you still afraid of hurting me after all this while?" he asked, frowning

"I apologize for hesitating in my attacks. I'll fight like a real enemy this time. Please tell me to stop when you want," Rale affirmed as he disappeared. 

His figure appeared behind Ryder as he reached out his hand to grab Ryder by the neck to thrash him to the ground. He was actually going all out instead of going easy as per orders. 

Even though Rale's speed was fast, Ryder seemed to be even faster as his figure also disappeared before Rale could even grab him. 

Ryder appeared behind Rale, grabbing him by the neck instead as he raised Rale in the air while tossing him back again. 

'As expected, the people of this world can't face me even when I'm using a fraction of my strength and speed. It's the strength of gods, after all. But it's still fun to fight freely,' Ryder thought, observing his hand. 

The Battle continued for the next half an hour, and in every exchange, it was Ryder who was at an advantage while Rale always found himself at a disadvantage. 

Fortunately, Ryder hadn't hurt Rale at all. Every time he caught Rale, he freed him or tossed him away instead of thrashing him to the ground. 

Even the other Royal Guards who stood in the distance found themselves engrossed. Their Emperor was really that strong. It was the first time they had seen Ryder fight. 

"I accept defeat. I used all the skills I had, and I couldn't even touch you. Your Majesty is really mighty, as I expected," Rale ultimately dropped to his knees as he accepted his defeat.

"You gave a good fight," Ryder said as he stepped closer to Rale. He reached out his hand to help Rale up. 

Grabbing the hand of Ryder, Rale stood up. 

"Now arrange for clothes. You can't look this dirty when we meet the High Dukes," Ryder said before he sent four Royal Guards to invite the High Dukes to the Palace. It was the time to establish his dignity before the High Dukes as well. 

Even though the High Dukes already respected him, he wanted to show them that he actually was strong and deserved that respect. 

Rale dusted his clothes while the others guards left to call the High Dukes. 

After cleaning his clothes, Rale and Ryder walked together to the Throne Room. Miku also followed after them.

"Did anything significant happen while I wasn't here?" Ryder inquired. 

"Nothing major. Everything has been stable so far. But our men did catch a few infiltrators from other places. 

These people seemed like humans, but after being killed, their bodies disappeared. It was just like what happened when you had killed that man before the Vampire King. 

"It seems those people have been trying to infiltrate the Demon Realm for some reason," Rale commented. 

"Moreover, some of them are really good at disguise, so it's pretty hard to find someone who has already infiltrated," he continued.

"Ah, that problem. Don't worry; I'll soon solve that problem as well. Just keep the Palace safe in the meantime. Within a few days, it should be solved," Ryder commented, reminding Rale not to worry about it. 

He already remembered about Necrosis. He had already planned to go there after taking care of the god-son who was residing in America. 

"I understand. That's a relief," Rale affirmed as he sighed in relief. "It was starting to upset our citizens. If this continued for longer, our people might really start hating humans."

"It won't continue for long," Ryder responded. "Anyway, anything else that might have happened?" 

"Ah, nothing significant. Just some invitations from the Dukes of different regions. And the human empires also invite you to thank you. These are the names of the Empires." Rale gave a list of names to Ryder. 

Ryder opened the list and went through the names. It seemed like all the empires and kingdoms had invited him already. 

"This Kingdom?"

A name, in particular, attracted his attention. 

"Accept this invitation. We'll go to this Empire. Arrange a date of a few days later," Ryder said as he returned the list.