Seconds Matter made quick work of the remaining soldiers. There were still a dozen of them, but as soon as Alex sliced a shield in half with the support of Fergus's buff, the rest dropped their weapons in surrender.

  All submit in the face of the overwhelming force. Alex truly shone in moments like these.

  Before Seconds Matter would dare take out the body, they needed to make sure there wouldn't be another surprise attack. If they lost this body too, they'd be trapped with little hope of escape.

  But there was one major issue in their way: How could they contain a bunch of soldiers who were living weapons?

  They didn't have any slave collars to restrict them from using their abilities, nor shackles strong enough that they could be sure they wouldn't break.

  The answer: Use the environment!

  They were surrounded by indestructible furniture within the church. Fortunately, the church pews weren't fixed to the ground, and with Alex's strength, she was able to stack two on top of one another.

  They forced the soldiers to lie down on the long benches, and then they placed another upside down, creating a makeshift coffin.

  With a wrapping of rope on the outside, these men and women stood no chance of breaking free. Well, as long as the Valkyrie kept up her power.

  Before encasing the soldiers in their tombs, Fergus even treated the ones with more gruesome wounds. The one whose forearms Damian cut off was giving him the absolute worst look. But somehow, none of the soldiers in the church perished.

  Likely the Valkyrie's doing. Not so sure about the people outside of the church. It was them or us... Damian told himself while avoiding thinking about it further. Things didn't go as planned, and when things broke down, you had to deal with the consequences, whatever they may be.

  Lastly, there was Major Bradford. He was still encased in stone, looking like a statue. He'd almost fit right in if they placed him atop a building as a fixture. Not one bit of him showed human flesh.

  Was he going to stay like this? Could he see what was happening in his surroundings? It could be time-based. Or it'd keep up until the skill detected that his aggressors had left.

  They didn't know, but fortunately, he was still standing upright before he turned to stone. Another pew coffin burial, and they were secure.

  The entire time Seconds Matter were going about this, the Valkyrie watched them, looking slightly amused. She didn't interfere with their work, but was clearly enjoying how these hooligans were taking advantage of her protection.

  If they were truly bad people, their first instinct would have been to kill all the soldiers. In fact, Damian had completely forgotten his own healing in favor of treating the more gravely wounded.

  It took Frey to notice all the blood coming from his stump to get him to sit down and receive proper healing, rather than just a swig from a health potion.

  It wasn't only the Valkyrie watching them; the clergy and other caretakers of the church crowded around her, waiting for them to present their 'evidence'.

  They showed no fear, having full faith in the Valkyrie's protection. If anything, they were anxious to see if these people had proof that their own government helped facilitate the largest attack ever to hit the capital.

  If what they were claiming was true, this was going to be a moment written in the history books.

  'sigh'

  "... Um, Miss Valkyrie. Once we take out the evidence, can you guarantee our safety? And the safety of the evidence? Also, the safety of our allies?"

  It was rather late for Damian to ask this question, but they never had the chance to ensure their protection. It was all a mad dash, thanks to Damian's impulsive decisions. Deals like this were uncommon with the Valkyrie, so they didn't know.

  The Valkyrie looked at them with a slight smile. "If what you bring to me truly identifies the culprits behind the attack and that the country of Duco attempted to have this evidence hidden, I assure you on behalf of all Valkyrie that we will protect you."

  A wave of relief washed over the party. They had little doubt that the Valkyrie's power would uncover the inner workings of the attack. How could it not, with so many people working to destroy it?

  "Donna, if you would."

  Seconds Matter tensed during the moment of the reveal. Ready to fend off another attack from some unknown assailant. The body dropped on the ground, and nothing happened. No hidden assassin was ready to burn the body in front of their eyes and laugh at their folly.

  The evidence was the body of the tier 6 they had originally taken. The body destroyed was the one Reginald had in his spatial storage.

  "Before we begin, I must ask. How is this body related to the attack?"

  Damian quickly explained how they came across the body and how it was rigged to become a wraith.

  "That is acceptable, now let us begin."

  The Valkyrie didn't make a motion with her hands or anything of the like. The body of the deceased soldier started to glow, and a scene started to form in the air.

  It started with a dark-skinned man and woman making love in an elegant bedroom.

  What?

  The scene began to change rapidly, as if time were speeding up.

  This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

  The next thing they witnessed was the birth of a healthy baby boy. Both parents were looking at the child fondly. In accordance with the main clan's traditions, they named him Huben.

  The scene skipped by again, and they witnessed that same child growing up, learning to become a warrior by play-fighting with other kids. The child looked up to his father, who was a branch family member of the Hu Clan. Their clan specialization was in fire control.

  Time moved forward, revealing brief glimpses of the man's life. From a starry-eyed child to a bright-eyed young man.

  He had gone through numerous excursions within the Inferno Spire under the leadership of his older cousin, Hu-Juren, the heir to the Hu Clan.

  When Huben wasn't in the Spire, he was with his best friend, a dwarven woman named On-Rio. She was a member of the Empire's blacksmithing clan, the On clan. It was clear he wanted more than friendship, but the woman remained oblivious, simply enjoying his company.

  On-Rio would boast, saying that she was the luckiest crafter to have such a reliable and hot source of flame. Whenever she poked fun at the man, he'd end up blushing and looking away. She was also the one to craft the equipment he'd be bringing with him into war.

  He was now going to war. His first battle, serving under Hu-Juren, was done with expert coordination; they overwhelmed the Light Theocracy's forces that met them on the battlefield.

  Large horseless battle chariots and carriages were steered into the Theocracy's flank, breaking their ranks.

  The battle carriages were a new form of war that had just begun to appear in the last decade. Soldiers used to avoid the prospect of acquiring carriage-related skills like the plague, but this had changed in recent times.

  By removing horses from the equation, remote controllers would spin the wheels of armored carriages, creating small mobile fortresses. Their skills would increase the carriage's defenses and give the controller greater maneuverability.

  This new facet of war was terrible to behold. If Damian had to go against it, he wasn't sure where to begin to fend it off.

  After breaking the Theocracy's ranks, the Imperial forces surprisingly didn't pursue the retreating forces. Hu-Juren declared that there was no honor in cutting down those with their backs turned. That wasn't in the spirit of the Fire Goddess's War the priestesses spoke of.

  They would continue to honor her and await her grand return. Conquest wasn't what the current Imperial Prince desired, but the rising of their people. This hasn't always been the case among the Empire's leadership, but for the time being, this held true.

  On and on the battles went, and the young Huben became a hardened warrior. He was praised by his fellow soldiers and allotted promotions, serving as one of Hu-Juren's most trusted subordinates.

  When he finally returned to the capital, he proposed to On-Rio. She was overjoyed. It seemed that absence made her heart grow fonder.

  They had a wonderful wedding celebration and went on to have three children: Onhu, Onhuben, and Onhurio. One Human and two dwarves.

  All people would take after either their father's or their mother's race. There was no such thing as a half race; those old folk tales often held crazed ideas. Spouting nonsensical stories about ostracized half-elves not being able to blend in with either family's people.

  As for the names, they had gone with the traditional route of combining their clan names to create their branch family names. The firstborn would take the two clan names as their own.

  On-Rio was from the main On Clan, but would not be the successor. If she had, the names would have been emphasized as On-Hu or On-Hu-Ben.

  Damian never really cared or understood the Empire's emphasis on bloodlines. What else would an orphan think? But seeing it play out in this vision piqued his interest in Imperial culture.

  The vision continued, showing more of this man's life until the Valkyrie found something noteworthy.

  Hu-Juren had risen through the ranks of the military—the pride of the Hu Clan, a Tier 7 General. There was also much talk that he'd eventually rise to the position of Vice Marshal, a highly coveted position.

  The Fire Empire only had two at any given moment. The Vice Marshal of the North and the Vice Marshal of the South, leading the war efforts against the Light Theocracy and Earthen Union, respectively.

  The vision cleared, and Hu-Juren was in a meeting with the other future clan heads, discussing the state of the war. Huben was at his side as one of his advisors.

  "I've already told you! We've lost too many men in that last offensive; those wizard towers the Union constructed have proven too effective!"

  "That's why we need to push more now! We need to break their lines and dismantle them. If we continue to do nothing, they'll solidify their new position!"

  "Then we can't keep up the offensive with both the Theocracy and Union. Those cowards up north would immediately jump at a temporary truce!"

  "And how would that make me look!? We haven't had a truce in over 200 years that wasn't commanded by the Valkyrie! My brothers and sisters would jump at that, declaring that I'm not fit to succeed the throne!"

  Hu-Juren's argument was with none other than the person most likely to succeed the throne, Ta-Qi, the firstborn son of the Imperial Ta Clan.

  Damian was learning more about the Empire than he had ever bothered to before. He felt he should have been snacking while watching the events unfold.

  Maybe I should ask Donna to take out the rations Fergus made.

  Looking over to his party, he could see that the bastards were already doing just that! Each and every one of them was nibbling on food.

  *Poke*

  Frey attacked Damian's side, adding insult to injury. When he looked at the hateful hand, it pointed down at a plate of rationed meat on the floor.

  Oh.

  He took a handful from the plate and looked to his right. The clergy had spread out to get a better view of the vision.

  Thinking something nefarious, Damian passed the plate into the hands of a woman in a nun's habit.

  Instinctively, her hand reached down and grabbed some of the food. Her eyes became wide at the first bite, but they never left the vision. After a little while, she passed the plate down the gathering, ensnaring more people.

  Good~ Good~ Join the Fergus Side~

  Satisfied, Damian returned to the vision.

  They had come to an agreement, even if Hu-Juren was dissatisfied with it.

  He and his men would personally lead an expedition through the Dried Heart Desert and attack the Wizard towers from their flank.

  It would be a highly dangerous mission, but if successful, it would turn the tide of the war. Damian hadn't heard of any of this from any of the town criers or newspapers.

  What the hell happened?

  Joining Hu-Juren, the Bi Clan, with their specialization in Sand Control, would aid him and his forces through the desert using sleds specially designed to coast over the dunes of the desert. If worst came to worst, they'd be stranded in Earthen Union territory.

  If the best outcome occurred, he'd be a shoo-in for the next Vice Marshal of the South. But of course that didn't happen.

  ***

  Fact Sheet:

  The clan system within the Fire Empire. There are other clans, but they are not part of the original founding clans below.

  Each clan's specialization is listed as well.

  - An Clan - Air

  - Bi Clan - Sand

  - Cu Clan - War (Defense)

  - Di Clan - Earth

  - En Clan - Saber

  - Fa Clan - Bow

  - Gu Clan - Insects

  - Hu Clan - Fire

  - In Clan - Transportation

  - Ji Clan - Swordsmen

  - Ku Clan - War - Offense

  - La Clan - Song

  - Mi Clan - Mage/Wizard

  - Na Clan - Poison

  - On Clan - Blacksmiths

  - Po Clan - Craftsmen

  - Qi Clan - Merchants

  - Ro Clan - Alchemy

  - Su Clan - Water

  - Ta Clan - Imperial Family

  - Un Clan - Death

  - Vi Clan - Assassination

  - Wu Clan - Hand-to-Hand Combat

  - Xu Clan - Blood

  - Yu Clan - Healing

  - Zu Clan - Strategist