King Gunner and the nobles were speechless for a moment. Having no other choice and seeing no other alternatives, King Gunner and General Bryce nodded their heads. Following their agreement, the trio began to discuss the status of Northguard, a kingdom that fell into Thusia's hands.

"I still have some contacts within Northguard. The prince has been leading the rebels since Thusia conquered them," said Gunner.

"I am glad they still have a fight in them. Do you have a way to meet the prince?"

To Michael's surprise, King Gunner sighed.

"Yesterday, I received a report from my spies that the Thusians captured the prince and the core members of the rebellion. They are getting transported to Andover, Northguard's capital," said Gunner.

"They will be executed in front of the citizens when the sun rises tomorrow," said General Bryce. He felt pity for the prince. He lost his entire family to the Thusia. Still, he managed to lead a rebellion, hoping one day they would chase away the invaders. But everything was going to end unless Ghost wanted to save the prince. Judging by the look on Ghost's face, both Gunner and Bryce could tell them he was thinking about rescuing the prince. Although the prince had no big army to help Ghost, the prince was a powerful fighter and ally to have their side.

"I assume you know the route they are using to transport the prince and his men," said Michael.

As Michael expected, General Bryce nodded. General Bryce clapped his hands as a soldier rushed into the throne hall.

"General Bryce,' the soldier bowed.

"Bring me the green parchment on my table,"

The soldier quickly ran into the door in the corner to bring the parchment. Michael was surprised that everything was so open. The nobles were staring at them without batting an eye. If there were a thusian spy among them, the spy would inform everything to Maxim Barnes. Fortunately, Michael did not give a damn about spies. Overwhelming power could always beat strategies.

When the soldier returned, General Bryce opened the parchment. Michael saw the map of Northguard. The majority of the kingdom was lush forests and rivers. Michael wondered why Maxim Barnes targeted Northguard because he always coveted a natural resource in a kingdom that he waged war against. Zulon was a metal-rich kingdom, while Suven was the breadbasket of the Ozer Continent.

Instead of guessing it himself, Michael questioned King Gunner.

"Why did Maxim Barnes target Northguard? What do they have in abundance?" asked Michael.

"That's the same question we had. Maxim Barnes always has something in his mind. Northguard didn't specialize in anything. They are just a regular kingdom. It has many water resources, but I don't think that's something MAxim Barnes is interested in. He has plenty of lakes and waters in Itholan,"

"Speaking of Itholan, what is the state of the mind of Itholan natives?" asked Michael.

Itholan fell to Thusia first. King Maxim Barnes turned this kingdom into the new Thusia. It was a bold and unheard move of Maxim Barnes. No king had ever sold his kingdom and relocated it to another place, let alone a continent. The reason however simple, the cosmic stream was in Itholan. Even Itholan people had no idea they were sitting on an energy source that could change the fate of the world.

"For the first few months, those people struggled against the new authority. But Maxim won over the people. He managed to develop the kingdom out of bones. As much as I hate him, he turned a once poor kingdom into one of the richest in the world. So naturally, people began to accept him as their king," said Gunner.

"I heard they even throw parades showing their joy. So don't count on the people or army of Itholan to fight against Maxim. There is no Itholan anymore,"

Michael couldn't disagree with General Bryce. Of course, Maxim Barnes would keep the Itholan people happy. In fact, he would develop every kingdom under his rule and make them a superpower. That was the reason why Michael was building an army quickly. He wanted to get rid of Thusia before the people accepted Maxim Barnes as their ruler. Even if he was the Half Immortal, fighting the people of four kingdoms would be a headache.

"Now, back to the topic of Northguard, it's highly likely Maxim Barnes knows something we don't," said Gunner.

"That's why we are going to rescue the prince," said Michael.

"Then we need a plan of attack," said General Bryce.

"I have a plan," Michael rose from the sofa with a smile on his face.

"Attack,"

*******************************************

In a blink of an eye, the around General Bryce changed. One second he was standing in the throne hall, and the next, he was floating above a lush, thick forest. The forest was endless, thick, and young. Its canopy was marked by hazel, pine, and fir, sufficient twinkling lights burst through their crowns for a diversity of plants to consume the nut and seed-covered grounds below.

Thin tree limbs dangled from every tree, and a medley of flowers, which claimed remnants of light, added some bright touches to the otherwise monotone backdrop.

A variety of wild noises, which were caused by foraging animals, added life to the forest and were out of sync with the occasional sounds of breaking twigs beneath the feet of larger animals.

When General Bryce focused on his surroundings, he heard the sound of horses galloping.

"Shh," Michael shushed as he slowly flew through the canopy. General Bryce and Michael noticed two cages pulled by horses slowly galloping on the man-made path. For an escort party, they were pretty small. It seemed like the Thusians didn't want to draw so much attention. Michael and General Bryce used the foliage and canopy to their advantage. The Thusians didn't know they were being followed by two intruders.

"I count eight," General Bryce whispered.

To Michael's surprise, they all were at the Soul Refining stage. If General Bryce, a Soul Refining stage warrior, were to fight the group, the outcome of the battle would be Genera Bryce's death. However, the power gap between a Soul Refiner and a Half Immortal was huge. Michael calmly increased his speed. His targets were the eight soul-refining stage soldiers riding horses.

General Bryce suddenly heard an otherworldly whistling noise Soon, dark beams shot out of Ghost's eyes. General Bryce wouldn't have seen the black beam if it wasn't for the torches lit atop the cages. To General Bryce's surprise, the black beams penetrated the Soul Refining stage soldiers. The beams zig-zagged from soldier to soldier, putting a hole into their heads.

[Ding! Congratulations to the host for killing a Soul Refining stage level 4 warrior. The reward is 300,000Experience points and 6000 Badass points]

[Ding! Congratulations to the host for successfully being a badass. The reward is 5000 Badass points]

[Ding! Congratulations to the host for killing a Soul Refining stage level 4 warrior. The reward is 300,000Experience points and 6000 Badass points]

[Ding! Congratulations to the host for successfully being a badass. The reward is 5000 Badass points]

[Ding! Congratulations to the host for killing a Soul Refining stage level 4 warrior. The reward is 300,000Experience points and 6000 Badass points]

[Ding! Congratulations to the host for successfully being a badass. The reward is 5000 Badass points]

...

Michael ignored the system words sound in his head.

The soldiers fell off the horses with a thud. They didn't even have time to shout. Instead, their horses neighed loudly. The horses were terrified. General Bryce saw several tiny bolts of lightning shooting out of Ghost's fingers, hitting the chains connecting the horses to the cages.

"Hrrmmmmm!"

When Michael's feet touched the ground, he noticed several figures inside the cages mumbling. Their heads were covered by a black cloth, while their hands and legs were shackled by metal chains.

"Prince Davarius, are you inside the cage?" asked General Bryce.

They counted ten hostages inside the cages. Each cage contained five prisoners.

"HRRMMMMM!" Michael heard a loud mumbling from one of the cages. He walked toward it to see one of the prisoners shaking their metal chains frantically. Michae sent a bolt of lightning to the metal lock on the cage. Sparks flew as the lock exploded into bits and pieces. General Bryce quickly opened the cage. Yet again, Michale fired the dark beams. This time, it traveled through the chains around the prisoners.

Finally, General Bryce helped the prisoners out of their cages.

"Prince Davarius, it's General Bryce. We got you,"

General Bryceremoved the black cloth on one of the prisoner's heads, revealing a dark skinned man with a thick bushy beard. A cloth wrapped around his mouth underneath the cloak to prevent him from screaming. Prince Davarius stared at Michael and General Bryce in shock. Prince Davarius was a few inches taller than Michael. His body was riddled with scars. No one would tell this man was a prince by the looks of him.

"I didn't think you would come to save us," Prince Davarious said in a thick accent.

He looked around at the Thusian bodies before spitting on the ground. To this moment, Davarius did not try to see through Michael's cultivation level.

"Who is he?" Davarius looked at Michael.

"That's master Ghost. Our alley and the one who just saved you," said General Bryce.