The Burhan gang was one of the two major gangs in the portside of West Hazen. They ran a protection racket, gambling and drug smuggling operation in the area. With 50 members strong, their presence was a bane to the Hazen city guards.

  By no means were Hazen City guards incompetent … or particularly corrupt. They even had Count Hazen’s support in reducing crimes in the city. However, the entirety of Azalia was still reeling from the aftermath of War of the Empress.

  Unemployment went up. Many industries were destroyed. Trades barely started back up. And worst, there are many ex-soldiers roaming the streets, either out of job or out of hope. The Burhan gang was composed of many such people and they were led by a former knight, Krieg Burhan.

  In the war, Krieg served under Empress Gianna Yul Ambren Azali’s army, mother of Imperial Prince Dante Yul Ambren Azali. At the time, the Yul Ambren was a prominent Ducal family in the north. Young Krieg had served and spent his entire childhood being a squire for the Yul Ambren knight order. He was proud to serve the Yul Ambren and hopeful that the Imperial Prince Dante would be the next Emperor of Azalia and he, an Imperial knight for his service.

  Realistically speaking, Krieg and the higher-ups in the army expected themselves to control the North, and either have a bog down fight for the south or a peace deal that ended with them as a major power in Azalia northern politics, but depending on how the war went, they expect themselves as one of the main competitor for the throne.

  But reality was much more cruel. A force that they did not expect, nay, a force that they underestimated had destroyed their hope and dreams. A force of 50,000 strong, under the banner of a mad woman, shunned by the court, Empress Rosa Claudio Riberio Azali defeated their 750,000 strong force in just four months.

  While Empress Rosa herself was by no means a general, They were led by 3 capable generals. Rosa’s oldest son, Kaisar Claudio Riberio Azali, her third and youngest son, Odyssus Claudio Riberio Azali, and her younger brother, Oliver Claudio Riberio. All three led an army of around 10,000 strong each and outmaneuver Yul Ambren’s grand army.

  By the end of the fourth month, 200,000 Yul Ambren soldiers were dead, Kaisar had decapitated Empress Giana, and Imperial Prince Dante abdicated his claim to the throne and was imprisoned. The majority of the remaining 550,000 soldiers, most being levies, were absorbed into Kaisar’s and Odyssus’ armies. Becoming the foundation of their victory in the War of the Empress.

  Krieg Burhan was one of the 550,000 survivors and one of the few thousands who refused to serve the Claudio Riberio. Gone were the pride, hope and ambition he once had. All he had left was regret and humiliation. Once, he was a respected knight. Now the only respect he got was from the dreg of society.

  Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

  ******

  John, Cooper, D’aka, and Regulus Eda Grigori Azali were on top of a rooftop. They were spying on a rundown tavern, which was used as a hideout for the Burhan gang. From there, they saw a bunch of gangsters just laying about the front door, acting as guards even though barely anybody crossed the street in front of them. After all, the entire neighborhood was pretty much under their control. The buildings on these streets were all abandoned, in a state of disrepair. They were either used by homeless and vagrants as living space or by Burhan gang as storage space for their illegal goods. Before this whole debacle, the street urchins even used some of these buildings as temporary sleeping space.

  “So what’s the plan?” asked D’aka, blades at the ready.

  “Can’t we just have that thing … I mean Regulus charges at them?” asked Cooper, who’s now a believer in Regulus’ strength

  “No. That… sounds stu- Reckless.” Interject John. “ Don’t forget, we still need to secure the captured kids. Regulus might be invincible. But they’re not.”

  Hearing that, D’aka unsheathed his blades. He realized he was being impatient. Maybe it’s more accurate to call it over confidence. They got Regulus at their side, unless the Burhan got a cannon, they’re no threat to Regulus.

  “Oooh, I got an idea,” said Grigori excitedly. “What if we have Regulus charges at them?”

  ‘This kid wasn’t listening’ thought the others. Eda smacked Grigori's head. “We just said not to do that idiot.” They started to bicker.

  “So what’s the plan?” asked D’aka, trying to ignore the bickering. “First, we need to figure out where the kids are held first. Then an escape plan. And then we gather enough people and weapons…” as John formulates a plan, he felt a sharp pain in his ears. Not just his, the other kids also covered their ears in pain. And suddenly …

  … Regulus zipped past them.

  He jumped down from the three stories building and landed gracefully on the street. The gangsters who were guarding the door were surprised. Before they can react, Regulus dash through their front door, destroying it to pieces.

  “Oh shit. He’s charging at them.” The kids realized. “What do we do now John?” Cooper asked, panicked. The situation escalated before they had a plan.

  “Shit!!! We’ll go on top of the roof and find a way inside. We’ll figure something out once we can see what happens.” ordered John. He loaded his flintlock and immediately went to action. What a mess, John thought.

  ******

  Regulus was bored.

  He wanted to dig but the younglings wanted to sunbathe and socialize. Azali was grooming his fur, but the other younglings were talking on how to attack the nest full of giants.

  Now that he thinks to himself, these giants might be called humans. At least that was what he got from the way these younglings tried to figure out what Regulus is.

  “He’s human I think”

  Those are the phrases that the younglings often use when trying to explain what he is. Foolish younglings. Obviously he’s a Molrret. Couldn't they tell from his smell?

  “... Regulus Charges at them?”

  Oh, do the younglings want him to hunt the larger humans? Were they hungry?

  “No…”

  Guessed they changed their mind.

  “...the captured kids”

  Oh, they got their younglings captured by older humans. It seemed humans were one of those species that eat their own. Regulus had seen some creatures that did exactly that. Not Molrret though. After all, Molrret blood’s smell last forever, and they smell horrendous.

  “...Regulus charges at them”

  Oh, Grigori wanted him to go inside the nest. Is he hungry? John just fed him though. Or maybe he wanted him to rescue the younglings.

  Regulus clicked his tongue.

  It created a high-pitch noise that bothered the younglings’ ears. From the echoes of the click, Regulus learned the terrain of his entire surrounding and information of all living beings in the area, including the location of the captured younglings.

  ‘Found.Younglings’

  Regulus sniffed the air. His nose was sharp enough to capture the smell of the entire residents of the building. His brain was wired in a way where he could identify the exact source of each smell and remember them.

  Regulus had enough information. Without a sliver of hesitation…

  … He leapt.