As Karsa and Bulkan walked down a corridor towards the family master's room, the servant Ben led the way.
Bulkan whispered to Karsa, "This man seems powerful. I can feel his sani even though he's not emitting any energy. I wonder what level he is?"
Karsa spoke with a serious expression, "He's a sword master..."
Bulkan gasped, whispering nervously, "What are you shouting? Lower your voice or he'll hear us!"
Ben spoke with a smile, "Heh, as expected from the young lady's savior, you can tell a person's level with just a look..."
Ben looked at Karsa with a slight smile, "You must be a Grandmaster at least..."
Karsa remained silent, continuing to walk.
Ben sigh with smile and said "A man of few words, huh? Well, anything hidden will be discovered now by meeting the family master."
Bulkan whispered again, his expression irritated, "Why is he speaking to us like that...? Does everyone in this family not know the proper way to converse?"
Upon arriving at the head of the family's chamber, the door was imposing, its powerful decorations and luxurious touches reflecting the strength of the Bamira family, the greatest sword family in the Maltalia kingdom.
Ben stood by the door and said, "Please enter. The head of the family awaits you inside."
As soon as the door opened, Karsa caught sight of a dignified man with predominantly gray hair, some black streaks, and sharp violet eyes that spoke of the weariness and weight of years of experience.
The head of the family sat smiling sternly, while his daughter Rosa sat beside him at his desk, crafted from imported zenzine wood from the Tang family lands, part of the Morim Alliance in the Eastern Continent.
The head of the family was dressed in combat attire, as if he had just emerged from training, indicating that he was an uncommon figure among the nobility, who typically favored luxurious clothing.
Despite this, the head of the family's chamber was incredibly lavish, filled with swords collected from around the world, fangs and hides of dangerous beasts, such as the fang of the red-eyed beast from the Lower Continent, and works of art, such as the painting of the man who covered his eyes from the sun, taken from Western Continent
Amidst all this, the family leader whose smile made Karsa smile the moment the door opened.
The family leader spoke in a voice brimming with energy, causing Bulkan to tremble and instinctively place his hand on his scabbard, a reaction to the being before him."Oh, you two are the saviors! I'm truly happy to meet you!"
Name: Winson Bamira
Race: Human
Leader of the Bamira family and right-hand man of the King of Maltalia, nicknamed "The Purple Meteor"
Level: 4-Star old Master
Bulkan knelt on the ground, raising and striking his fists in a salute.
"I salute the great Head of the Bamira family!"
As Bulkan knelt before Winson, everyone in the room except Winson was stunned. Bulkan remained in his position with a tear in his eye.
Karsa stood like a rock, neither kneeling nor lowering his head to the family leader.
One of the soldiers in the room shouted,
"You bastard!" "What insolence! Kneel now, you lowly commoner! You are before the master of the great Bamira family!".
Rosa was nervous at Karsa's actions, while Ben watched with a smile on his face.
Then the place fell silent, as if existence itself had granted Karsa the time to speak.
Karsa, in a calm tone and with sharp eyes looking directly into Winson's, said, "In my religion, we believe that bowing to any creature is a great humiliation, and it is forbidden even to lower your head to anyone..... Submission and bowing are for God alone... That is what I believe."
Karsa said this while everyone was bewildered and shocked by his words, which revealed the deeply held principles in Karsa's mind.
A soldier shouted again at Karsa, "You bastard! Today you will die if you don't kneel...!"
The soldier was interrupted by a loud laugh from Winson that shook the entire room and made even Bulkan tremble.
Winson said, his eyes sharper than ever, "You're right. Everyone should hold fast to their principles... But wasn't what you did insolent to me?"
Winson applied intense pressure on both Karsa and Bulkan, forcing Bulkan, the Sword Master, to bend even lower.
Rosa was more and more nervous, while Karsa stood like an ancient mountain amidst a great earthquake, unmoved and unaffected in the slightest.
Karsa's posture made Winson laugh even harder, his eyes emitting a deep, faint violet aura of excitement.
Winson's laughter and aura shook the room until even the soldier in the room fainted, and Bulkan, in an instant, had a drop of blood from his nose.
At that moment ... At that moment ... Karsa forced Bulkan's blood drop to return with a slight surge of energy and a sharper look into Winson's eyes.
Karsa said, "It's good that you see I can withstand your energy, but...! To harm others carelessly is a great crime."
At that precise moment, all the pressure, aura, and energy that Winson had applied vanished.
Winson smiled. "You're right again. I'm learning a lot from you today."
Winson stood and lowered his head apologetically to Bulkan. "I'm sorry, young man, for that rude behavior, even though you did me a favor by saving my daughter."
Rosa was taken aback by her father's behavior, while Ben only smiled slightly.
Bulkan quickly recovered and lowered his head. "No, no thanks are necessary. You don't need to lower your head, Mr. Bamira."
All of this happened while Karsa remained standing tall and proud...
Winson spoke after he sat down. "I would like to thank you more politely, so would you please attend the banquet I'm hosting tomorrow?"
Bulkan spoke excitedly, his mouth watering. "Wow, a noble banquet! I haven't been to a noble banquet in 20 years!"
Winson laughed enthusiastically, and Rosa said With a smile, she said, "I repeat my thanks to you. If it weren't for what you did, I wouldn't be standing next to my beloved father now."
After that, Karsa and Bulkan left with Ben to the guest bedroom, while Rosa stayed with her father.
Rosa said to her father seriously, "What do you think of him, Dad?"
Winson stood up , placing his hands behind his back in front of the painting of the man covering his eye from the sun. "That man is truly strong..." he said, his hand trembling.
Rosa replied to her father, "Is he stronger than you, Dad?"
Winson replied with an enthusiastic smile, "Not at all...! Hahaha!"
Rosa smiled and asked her father's permission to leave.
Before she went out the door, she said seriously, "Dad, I hope you'll think about what I told you."
After she left, Winson said seriously, "The world is truly vast..."
Then the soldier woke up from his coma, shouting, "Where That bastard, I'll kill him today!"
A soldier was punished with 800 laps around a training ground for yelling at a family lord.
....
In a dilapidated cottage beside the Duchy of Bamira, the home of the Black Fingers lord,
Eliana lay asleep in the grass outside the cottage, facing a wide meadow, clutching a children's storybook titled "The Wonderful Tales of the Sun General."
Nolkane appeared with his usual imposing presence, patted her head, and carried her into the cottage.
He laid her on her bed and covered her.
He placed her book on her chest and said sadly, "Your father would have loved to see you if he were alive."
Then, a great black aura appeared. Without pressure, Nolkane said gravely, "Those wretched nobles will see how great the Martuni family truly is, and they will regret killing my mother, my father, Bulkan, and... and... my sister, Mala."