Winner Takes All

This concerned the peace of the territory.

Jack wasn't the least bit doubtful and suspicious of what Achilles had said about getting ranked according to their contribution in war.

Heavenly Hierarchy was all they needed to bring this matter to a close!

The hundreds foreign tribes who resided in the outskirts of the North continued to intrude the North. Before the Dragon Cavalry Squad had arrived, often times the borders of the North would be breached by them. The foreign tribes could easily attack in the South direction easily with nobody stopping them.

Ever since the Dragon Cavalry Squad was established, Zenith came out of nowhere and became the anchor of defense for the North. With just his own might, he was able to fend off all attackers and quench all the restlessness in the area. His name alone was reputable enough to silent all the other races and clans in the North, which in turned brought peace in the region.

If this was about leveraging their powers, even all of the other clans combined wouldn't be more threatening than the North alone.

Outside the North, they would have places to hide away from danger, and there were room for orchestrating retaliation if they were attacked!

However, this was not the case for the North. In this place, danger knew no boundaries.

If Zenith never appeared and built this place into an impenetrable fortress, when war started and all the other clans launched their attacks, they would meet no opposition and they would be able to stomp the ground flat!

For the Dragon Cavalry Squad which were three hundred thousand men strong, if they didn't have any back-up plans, it would mean that there would be no way for escaping. They could only face the impossible task of fighting back such vast number of enemies!

The collaboration and ties between the hundreds clans of foreign tribes would mean a lot for peacemaking in the whole region.

They would only need one involvement to gain the prestige of Heavenly Hierarchy!

One had to acknowledge the fact that the Dragon Cavalry Squad was a troop of iron-clad beasts. They were the best of the best.

For them, the foreign tribes who were their subject of suppression would be nothing more than ants under their feet.

One just had to take a good look at his enemies to gain a good gauge of a troop's ability.

The Dragon Cavalry Squad and the hundred clans of foreign tribes coexisted perfectly in this situation!

When the foreign tribes all went into war, the Dragon Cavalry Squad was able to hold their own ground with their formidable troops and merciless strategies.

However, when the hundred clans of foreign tribes could put aside their generational grudges and joined forces, even for the three-hundred-thousand-men strong Dragon Cavalry Squad, they had to tread carefully too.

This was why Zenith was willing to seal off this information and prevent word from getting out in between himself and the Twelve Golden Guards for the past two years.

The hundred clans of foreign tribes who joined hands were like dark clouds hanging over the horizon in the distance.

When the clouds reached breaking point, heaven would break apart and a huge thunderstorm would rain down mercilessly.

By the... the whole territory would be plunged into danger!

At this moment, various thoughts were going through Jack's mind.

With his vast amount of experience and knowledge, it only took a moment for him to make clear of the relationship between various factions in this complicated web after being told by Achilles.

"I know your temperament. You can be rest assured, since Debut is deprived of his honorary medal because of you, the dictator would think of something to compensate them."

Achilles watched the silent Jack and mistakenly thought that he was still thinking about war contributions. He quickly consoled Jack.

"Trivial things such as war contributions are nothing compared to the safety of the whole region."

Jack shook his head with a grave look on his face before turning to look at Achilles, "What is the dictator's thoughts on this matter?" "What do you think?" Achilles returned with his own question with his brows raised.

"What do I think?"

Jack was a little perplexed.

Achilles rolled up his sleeves and pulled Jack into the depths of the barracks, "It is still snowing out here. Let's talk over a warm fire."

When the smoke billowed from a large brazier, the coldness they felt slowly dissipated.

After entering the house, Jack sank into silence as if deep in thought by the brazier.

After Achilles had set up the fire nicely and settled right beside Jack, he began, "You are the Chief Guard who has only one man above you as you oversee millions. Naturally, your opinion is of great value in such matters."

Jack looked up at Achilles.

All of a sudden, he felt something heavy weighing on his eyelids.

Achilles' words seemed to bear enormous weight as they weighed heavily on Jack's shoulders.

When Achilles first sought out his opinion, Jack didn't really know where he was going with this conversation.

However, when Achilles spoke of Jack's position of being only under one man while overseeing millions, hinting at his responsibility and the power he held.

However... what should he do about this matter?

Jack was in a dilemma.

His leaden shoulders made him feel like something was constricting his throat. Speech was slightly difficult for some reason.

If this was a matter concerning companies and malls, he could just do as he pleased without any reservation.

However, the predicament he was facing now wasn't just concerning a mere mall or just any company or family... it concerned the whole region!

All creatures great and small held significance in this world!

Any words by him would spark a butterfly effect in this region!

"Is this what it means to be above all else with just one person above me?"

Jack smiled bitterly, and there was an unsettling seriousness in his eyes. He was staring at Achilles as he seemed to struggle to put his thoughts into words.

Achilles was stunned for a moment as his eyes met Jack's. His steely face was now a little worn out and glum.

"When I was the Chief Guard all those time ago, the dictator used to tell me something."

"What did he say?"

Achilles put on a faint smile, "When you stand atop everyone else and gain their admiration, you should instead bend down and place your palms downwards. You have the responsibility to ensure their safety and peace, even if... you have to put your life on the line."

Jack laughed.

He shrugged, "Actually, I am not someone so brave and noble at first. It was Zenith who first brought me up to this position, and before I knew it I can't relieve myself of these duties anymore. I suspect him that he has his own motives for giving me this raise and strip you off your position."

Jack let out a guffaw and playfully punched Jack on his chest.

"You are really rubbing salt in my wounds now.'

Jack continued to smile bitterly.

Achilles waved his hands, "Alright, I'll stop pestering you. After all, you are just a fresh Chief Guard who has arrived here not too long ago, so you wouldn't be so familiar with the ways of the battlefield. Don't worry, I will talk this matter through with the dictator and the other guards."

Jack's constricted throat finally felt a little loosened.

The nightmare which was going to fall upon the North was something too heavy for him to bear.

Therefore, Jack found his opportunity to break away from this topic, "Right, one more thing, what grudges are there between you and Shawn?"

"It's not just any grudges, it's a vendetta."

Achilles suddenly looked dangerous, "When I was still the Chief Guard of the Dragon Cavalry Squad, I have killed his brother personally."RêAd lat𝙚St chapters at Novel(D)ra/ma.Org Only

He wasn't the least bit hesitant when he revealed this.

Even Jack was caught off guard by this sudden revelation.

"His brother? Was he one of the Dragon Cavalry Squad too?"

Jack had a startled expression on his face, "This is impossible. The Dragon Cavalry Squad is dead-serious about their law. There is no way inter-killing between members would be tolerated."

"You are right about the part that the law in this squad is irrefutable."

Achilles shrugged and produced a meaningful smile, "However, what if I tell you that by killing his little brother, I was able to get noticed by the dictator and my pathway to the Chief Guard seat was all but made easy because of it?"

"This..."

Jack was suddenly speechless as he didn't know what to say.

The three hundred thousand men of the Dragon Cavalry Squad is being led solely by Zenith, and the laws being imposed was also decided according to Zenith's will.

With both of them belonging to the squad, Achilles has killed Shawn's little brother, which was as grave crime of inter-killing. This act has breached the last line of principle of the squad.

However, not only Zenith didn't pin the blame on Achilles, he instead made way for him to ascend to a higher position from that point on?"