<h4>Chapter 4: Returning to the Imperial Capital</h4>


    After an hour. Outside the Blue Tiger Mercenary Headquarters.


    "Oye! Look at the sky!" A random person eximed.


    "Where?" A passerby stopped in his tracks and questioned.


    In the sky, a big silhouette could be seen above the clouds.


    "It… it''s a Dragon!!" Another person eximed.


    "The Dragon''s going to destroy the town, everyone run!" That person who eximed first fled in fear upon seeing such a silhouette.


    "Idiot, that''s a Wyvern!" Another knowledgeable personmented after seeing the silhouettee down from above the clouds.


    The Wyvern''s wingspan stretched twelve meters long. It looked long-faced with a set of razor-sharp teeth in its mouth. Its tail thrashed around, creating gusts of wind that threw the people who were near off their footing.


    On its back was a middle-aged man dressed in shiny red armor. His face was valiant with vigor, and he exuded an aura that was capable of suppressing almost all of the people below him.


    Hence, none dared to shout at him.


    He scanned the area and spotted the Blue Tiger Mercenary sign on a building. He promptly headed towards that building. The Wyvern thenplied andnded in front of the Blue Tiger Mercenary Headquarters.


    "Captain of the Imperial Guards, Renard Nn, orders the Captain of the Blue Tiger Mercenaries toe out!" That man then shouted out loud, which shocked many people because of the fact that the man on the Wyvern belonged to the Imperial Guards.


    "What is the Captain of the Imperial Guard doing out here?" Many people started whispering to others.


    It wasn''t just a random Imperial Guard but the Captain! If someone said there wasn''t anything going on, then they wouldn''t believe it even if they were tortured!


    The members of the Blue Tiger Mercenaries didn''t dare tosh back at him. They could only wait in silence as they waited for their Captain to show up.


    To their luck, the Captain hurriedly came out of the building and swiftly bowed to the Captain of the Imperial Guard, Renard Nn.


    "Noel of the Blue Tiger Mercenaries, at your service!" Noel inwardly sweated.


    Such a powerful person hade directly to their mercenary group!


    He thought to himself, ''Woah, our Empire sure is establishing their authority all over thend!''


    They didn''t even bother to give him any face.


    ''Actually, why would they?'' Noel mocked himself.


    "Mhm, is Grey-" Before Renard Nn can finish his sentence, he saw a male figure exit the building with a child on his back.


    Renard Nn nced at Noel and uttered with a satisfied glint in his eyes, "Good, you will surely be rewarded with plentiful riches!"


    "It''s been a long time, Ray!" He smiled.


    Hearing the familiar andforting voice, a smile crept upon Ray Nn''s face as well.


    "Yes, brother!"


    Then the both of them bear-hugged casually andughed heavily in an uproarious tone.


    "Is the Imperial Prince fine?"


    Renard Nn''s expression slightly turned anxious.


    "…Yes, as you can see." Ray Nn nced at his back as he said. He then pursed his lips and inwardly cried as he thought back to the past two years, ''How am I supposed to say that the Imperial Prince was in aa from the moment he was entrusted to me?''


    Renard Nn heaved a heavy sigh and nodded his head, "Alright, let''s leave this ce then."


    "Please do, I''m sick of this lifestyle." Ray Nnughed loudly, not disying his worry.


    He then turned his head back and saw those misfits he had been together in these two years.


    "If you encounter any trouble, head to the Nn family and mention my name, Ray Nn." Ray Nn smiled as he bid farewell, "See youter, Noel."


    Noel just stood there dumbfounded by this revtion. He thought to himself, ''All of them are big guys, and these two are from the Nn Noble Family… I''ve struck it rich!''


    When both of the brothers got on the Wyvern, Noel shouted, "Don''t forget your words Grey, no, Ray!"


    "I won''t…" Ray Nn smirked.


    He had an amicable rtionship with Noel other than the fact that he was rather protective of his nephew Mel, but that was to be expected. He was still willing to treat him with respect.


    The Wyvern then flew to the skies heading towards the Imperial Capital.


    ======


    Six hourster.


    A huge wall could be seen in the distance. The walls were over sixty meters tall.


    "Finally, we reached the Imperial Capital with the help of this speedy Wyvern!" Ray Nn spoke joyfully. The two had a lot to talk about, so they chatted the whole way, disregarding Tian Long.


    Meanwhile, Tian Long couldn''t understand what they were saying, so he just gave up and enjoyed his first flight on the Wyvern. It was so fast, and the wind that slightly brushed past his face rather gave him a sense of exhration he hadn''t experienced in a long while.


    Perhaps, he even felt that the life-threatening spatial travel couldn''tpare!


    The air resistance he experienced would have rather thrown him off the Wyvern, but the two who were in front of him casually disregarded the air resistance and passively helped him defend it from erecting a barrier.


    ''Ahh, the air is so fresh in this world. The sceneries are so beautiful. Am I on vacation already?''


    Tian Long felt that his choice toe to this world was the best one he had ever made. Luckily, his fate, which was usually terrible, didn''t let him down this time, or that was at least how he felt.


    He didn''t know where he was headed to, nor did he know if he would be safe in the future, but since they treated him with care, he thought he would be safe with the two of them.


    It''s not like he could change his future right now, or do anything of significance in this wilderness below him, so he just went with the flow and didn''t care to ponder a lot.


    The Wyvern swiftly passed above the walls without any obstructions and headed to the Imperial Castle. It thennded below the main entrance of the Imperial Castle.


    Numerous guards held their spears and grasped it tightly as they would always. They didn''t even blink when the Wyvernnded in front of them, but they more or less disyed awe and respect within their eyes.


    At the same time, they were confused as to who that emaciated, poor child was…


    The trio then entered the Imperial Castle without any impediments, as if they were the masters of this Imperial Castle.


    Tian Long could see the grandness of this ce, and even without someone making him understand, he felt that he had arrived in some kind of royalty''s residence. He also realized that he slightly had his mouth agape and closed it.


    Feeling rather embarrassed, he thought, ''Is the child''s young body influencing my emotions to a degree?''


    In this short time of experiencing and witnessing many things aftering to his world, he felt that rather have a hard time controlling his emotions and the upheavals he felt wasn''t anything small.


    This made his suspect that the child''s developing body might be influencing his already established calm emotions.


    However, this was a new world, and it could also be possible that the inhibitions he had on his mind in the modern world had all disappeared.


    They arrived in front of the Throne Hall in a short time. Just as they were going to request the audience of the Emperor, the door opened, and a young woman with an extraordinary bearing came out with a worried expression on her face.


    Tian Long was shocked when he saw this kingdom toppling beauty with luxurious and elegant bearings.


    Her 170 centimeters tall figure captivated his eyes. Her skin fair, with almond royal purple eyes like two drops of wine, illuminated her eyes. Her wavy, waist-length blonde hair made her look gorgeous like an angel. Her face disyed a warm and graceful demeanor like a caring mother.


    Even then, she possessed a perfectly refined body with curves at the right ces, making her look a little mature.


    The young woman looked toward the child who was in the middle, sped hands with both the brothers. Her eyes widened in shock.


    Her lips slightly went agape as she slowly started running towards the child, and hurriedly hugged him with all her affection.


    "You''re safe. You''re safe, thank goodness, I''m sorry, I''m sorry that mother wasn''t able to be with you all this time!"


    The young woman started shedding tears of joy as she intensely shivered.


    Tian Long became dumbfounded as he felt being hugged by this woman. Even though he couldn''t understand what she was saying, he could feel the warmth from the hug, which he never got to experience in his previous life.


    ''Is this woman, the mother of this child?'' A thought encroached his mind.


    Hearing the ravings from the mother of this child, he was again invaded byplex feelings of guilt and sadness. He didn''t know why, but he almost couldn''t hold his tears from falling.


    He bit his lips and mused, ''Is this also because of the child''s developing body?''


    A young man, whose expression was full of joy for a fleeting moment can be seen behind the young woman who was currently hugging Tian Long.


    He appeared to be 180 centimeters tall, his skin fair with royal sapphire eyes that radiated a regal aura. His wavy, waist-length ck hair was lush as ink. His chin met with a short beard, and his shoulders were broad with some muscles making him look quite manly and handsome. In short, he had a medium build, and his face looked remarkably attractive to women.


    "Finally, my son has returned safely!" That young man uttered in a deep tone, disying his grandeur. He produced a serious expression on his face, but the sapphire pupils appeared moist.


    The two brothers immediately got down on their knees, "We pay our respects to the Emperor and the Empress!"


    They shouted in unison.


    "Good, stand up, follow me to the Throne…" The young man nodded and chose not to interfere with the mother and son reunion. Instead, he walked towards the Throne and sat down.


    All of those who were in the Throne Hall bowed as they sped hands to show respect to the Emperor. Many of them held positions in the Imperial Court, administrating the Empire''s regions.


    "Lift your heads! Ray Nn, you''ve done a great task of protecting my son in the time of chaos. This Emperor will bestow you with the title of Duke, a Mid-Level Earth Rank City around the inner region, and 100 Purple Coins."


    "It''s my honor, your Majesty!" Ray Nn obediently replied, but the reward he received rather made him feel that all his hardships were worth it!


    Especially the Mid-Level Earth Rank City!


    "Renard Nn, you did a great job of escorting them back safely!"


    "It''s a given, your Majesty!" Renard replied with his head still inclined below, disying his reverence and obedience.


    At this time, the Empress walked into the throne hall carrying her child on her arms.


    Observing the Empress, the Emperor nodded his head and cast a nce at his grown but emaciated child. He furrowed his brows and asked, "Ray Nn, exin the events that took ce when you were protecting my son."


    "Yes, your Majesty." Ray Nn nodded and exined the events that took ce during his secret mission without hiding anything.


    After approximately twenty minutes of exnation…


    "And that''s all, your Majesty!" Ray Nn concluded his report.


    "So… you are saying that my son just woke up three days ago?"


    Hearing the question from the Emperor that was filled with suspicion and coldness, beads of sweat started to form on Ray Nn''s face as he gulped.