Day 20:

  At noon-

  Three individuals stood before Rilden. One was a grizzled man in his te 50s wearing heavy armor, another was a middle-aged rogueish man who must have been a dy killer when he was younger, and the third was a heroic woman in religious leather armor of Bulthar and a thunder-shaped scar over her left eye-pathed eye.

  "These are Knight Vice-Commander Hugh Strongfist, my spymaster Jerob Narbe, and Padin Leader of Bulthar, Lady Brilda Thunderkill. All three of them are trustworthy." Varkas introduced each of the three powerful peak 4th-tier powerhouses.

  "My lord, you promised we could break through our realm. Is that true?" Hugh asked with eager eyes.

  A breakthrough in the realm improved one's strength and lifespan, and advancing from the 4th to 5th tier would lengthen his lifespan by about ten years. It also had a rejuvenation effect, reversing the effects of aging.

  However, it was a common consensus that, the older one gets, the more difficult it is to break through. In his advanced age, it was often considered impossible. Now that his lord had his hopes up, Hugh would be resentful if it didn't work.

  "I also have my doubts. I got stuck for five years now and can't improve anymore. I find it difficult to believe anything other than divine grace can help me now." Jerob also raised his doubts, holding a pessimistic view.

  "If you didn't reveal you broke into the legendary realm, I wouldn't have even come here." Brilda directly said, not trusting the city lord's tall cim, but instead showing respect for his strength.

  Varkas was not offended, knowing it was difficult to believe unless proven. Instead, he turned to look at Rilden and said, "Lad, you're up."

  Rilden nodded and looked at the three top masters without fear.

  "Since war is about to begin, we need every small boost we can get. Otherwise, I wouldn't so freely help any of you as I did for my father-in-w." Rilden apathetically said.

  "He helped create a legendary warrior?! And he is Varkas's son-in-w?!" The three individuals were startled and looked at Rilden again.

  He was an unassuming young man, and his only remarkable feat was his slightly stronger build, a byproduct of being a tier-2 warrior. If they looked through the knights serving the average lord, Rilden would look like one, but he cked the battle-ready fierceness those knights cultivated, not seeing a hint of blood in his life, yet having a feel of someone from the lower csses. It was a bizarre and rare combination often found in those who awakened their bloodlines ter in life and became talented overnight.

  "May I ask who you are, young master?" Hugh respectfully asked.

  "I am Rilden Greybde, and I will marry into the Greybde family. We have not met because you were stationed outside the city, Sir Hugh. And my engagement to father-in-w's daughter, Erose, was kept secret." Rilden smiled.

  "Ah, so you are the one who will marry the young miss." Hugh nodded and didn't ask more.

  "I also heard the young miss broke through. I assume it is reted to you, young master?" Jerob curiously asked.

  "Yes, I also helped her." Rilden nodded.

  "I remember now, you brought Ven to us, right? You have a sharp eye, young man." Brilda's tone became more friendly.

  "Why thank you." Rilden smiled.

  "I won't pry into your ability, but how do you pn to help us break through?" Brilda bluntly asked.

  "I just tell you how to break through, and you do it. It is your loss if you don't follow my instructions." Rilden shrugged, not caring.

  These were not his subordinates. Rilden was merely helping Varkas and the city of Tulens. If they didn't cherish this opportunity, it was their loss.

  "I will follow your instructions, young master!" Hugh saluted.

  "Alright. I want to see how you help us." Jerob said.

  "Likewise." Brilda nodded, also curious.

  "Alright. I will start with Hugh." Rilden said, turning to the grizzled veteran and asking, "Hugh, you have been a heavy tobacco smoker for the st 40 years, right?"

  "Yes, young master. That is no secret." Hugh openly admitted before curiously asking, "Is that reted to my bottleneck?"

  "Reted? It is the sole reason! It will also kill you in five years from lung cancer!" Rilden revealed.

  "S-Smoking can do that?" Hugh was taken aback, his face turning pale.

  "Yes. Smoking can kill you. Your lungs got clogged with toxins, preventing your breakthrough. I dare say your lungs are already bckened from your smoking. You can be promoted within three hours of practice if you remove the toxins and won't suffer from lung cancer." Rilden said.

  "H-How do I do that?" Hugh hopefully asked.

  "Simple. We prepared a Potion of Water Breathing for you, and a liter of Holy Water. After taking the potion, breathe the holy water into your lungs for an hour, letting the water cleanse most of the filth from your lungs. After that, you will have a smooth breakthrough within three hours." Rilden said.

  Pesem, who stood on the side, brought over a cart with a filled bowl with clear liquid and a blue potion.

  "Just like that? It is so simple?" Hugh blinked his eyes, somewhat in disbelief.

  "Yes. But it cost a small fortune, no less than 500 Gold Coins. You will repay it from your sary ter. Remember that smoking is expensive, both for your pocket and your health." Rilden said and didn't eborate more.

  Hugh hesitated when he heard the astronomical figure, but knew a breakthrough was more important than that bit of gold. He drank the water-breathing potion in big gulps, and after half a minute, he submerged his head in the holy water and started breathing.

  What happened next shocked Jerob and Brilda. Tar started spreading inside the bowl, and the water gradually turned bck.

  "By the gods, the d spoke true..." Jerob muttered in disgust.

  "I am gd I didn't smoke," Brilda said in aversion.

  "Now your turn, Sir Jerob," Rilden said to the spymaster.

  "Please help me, young master." Jerob was much more respectful now, already 90% believing in Rilden's abilities.

  "Jerob, I will be blunt. You're sick." Rilden said, making Jerob instantly turn hostile.

  "What did you say to me?!" Jerob snarled in anger, restraining himself from grabbing Rilden due to the presence of Varkas.

  "Oh, I think I wasn't clear enough. You have an active disease wreaking your body." Rilden crified.

  "... What?" Jerob narrowed his eyes.

  "Ever heard of syphilis?" Rilden asked.

  "No. I am not a doctor." Jerob frowned.

  "It is a sexually transmitted disease. About 15 years ago, you slept with a carpenter's lonely wife, right?" Rilden asked.

  "So? She was healthy! I don't get what you mean." Jerob frowned.

  "And you got sick the year after, began having rashes and hair loss. Right?" Rilden asked.

  "But it disappeared after a month. That doesn't expin anything." Jerob felt growingly uneasy.

  "That is because it entered its tent stage. During this stage, you won't transmit the disease anymore, and it will incubate for up to 20 years in your body. However, it burst into the te stage five years ago when you attempted to break through, and since then, you have begun feeling slight memory loss, disorientation, heart pain, and bone pain, right? You attributed it to your failed breakthrough, so you didn't attempt it again, right? And you tried toughing out the symptoms, not knowing it would only grow worse and worse." Rilden grinned.

  What happened next made Brilda's expression change.

  Plop*

  "Young master, SAVE ME!!!" Jerob fell on his knees, hands csped.

  "Settle down! Your condition is curable, and you are lucky that the Alchemist's Guild already developed such a targeted potion." Rilden said and turned to Pesem.

  Pesem understood the quo and brought two potions. One potion was bck with yellow bubbles, and the other was red with green shapes inside.

  "The bck potion will cure your disease, and the red one will restore the damage to your organs. The cure is retively cheap, only about 10 Gold Coins, but the red potion is far more expensive, costing 800 Gold Coins. Drink them, let your body heal, and you can attempt breaking through tonight. Next time, you should see the doctor instead of toughing it out." Rilden said.

  "Thank you, young master! Thank you!" Jerob felt emotional, deeply bowing, and drinking the potions.

  Rilden then turned to Brilda.

  "You are not going to tell me I have some health issue, right?" Brilda warily asked.

  "Oh, no. You are as healthy as you can get." Rilden smiled.

  "Then how am I to break through?" Brilda asked, confused.

  "Well, actually, you can't break through today. But you're chance will arrive tomorrow night. When was the st time you had a life-and-death battle?" Rilden asked with a smile.

  "Many years ago." Brilda shook her head.

  "And that is exactly why you won't advance. You are the type who thrives in battle. Fight enough battles, and you could even become a legendary powerhouse. Of course, you risk death by doing so. You merely need to pick your battles wisely." Rilden expined.

  "Who am I to fight, then?" Brilda curiously asked.

  "Kurc the Wolfsyer is a peak tier 4 Bloodletter of Qhiion and is evenly matched with you. Challenge him to a holy solo duel on the western battlements, and with the slight blessing of Bulthar, you will advance at the st moment and kill him." Rilden instructed.

  "Thank you for your advice. I shall follow it." Brilda nodded.

  "I expect you to return the favor in the future, " Rilden said deeply, turning to Varkas. "Father-in-w, I leave the rest to you. I need to go sword training."

  "Alright, go." Varkas waved his hand, and Rilden left.

  After seeing Rilden leave, Brilda looked at Varkas deeply and said, "That young man is worth more than all of our lives combined."

  "I know." Varkas nodded.

  "Do you pn to tell it to the Emperor?" Brilda asked.

  "No. Rilden can't defend himself yet. He needs time to grow." Varkas shook his head.

  "Then we will keep it secret. If he dies or is captured by the enemy, we will be the greatest sinners of the empire." Brilda said.

  "My lord, I agree. We cannot let the young master be harmed," Jerob, who finished drinking his potions, added.

  "Blob* Blob* Blob* Blob*" Hugh was still dipping his head in the now-dirty water.

  "I know." Varkas nodded.

  "But what favor will he ask of us?" Brilda asked.

  "I don't know, but you will see soon enough. But I doubt it would be something excessive." Varkas replied, not knowing what Rilden was pnning.

  He didn't know that Rilden also didn't know. Rilden merely casually said it since he didn't like doing things for free for strangers, not because he had grand machinations.

  And so, another day passed, and the invaders began marching through the countryside.