With an army of 9,000 mages, Lawrend and his team flew north. They headed for Tropical City– the city north of Sunset City and also the city sold by the previous king to the Blumin Empire.

The journey there wouldn’t be easy. It wouldn’t because of the less than nine thousand High Mages traveling with them, and a forest also blocked halfway of their journey. It would be easy just with the five of them.

There was an alternate route, but it was more prone to an ambush because it was a grassy plain closer to the Blumin Empire.

During this journey, Lawrend would teach them a lesson while they stopped. The mages gained a lot of new knowledge, giving them more confidence in themselves.

Confidence was an important thing for an army. It affected their morale and how they worked together. Lawrend decided to bestow them the name he came up with after they returned victoriously.

He didn’t want to bestow it to them this early yet. He wanted to see if they were worthy of this name.

On the second day, they arrived at the edge of the Startail Forest. This forest took a corner of the edge under the Stargazing Mountain Range. It also isolated Tropical City from the Undrasil Kingdom.

“Proceed in groups of five. Don’t linger for too long. Swiftly kill any monsters that you find,” Lawrend ordered.

“OHH!” x9000

The mages in the army split into groups of five. Some of them initially didn’t know anyone, but they were invited by others who needed more members. It coincidentally made the mages in the army closer together.

Lawrend and his group flew above the trees at a slow pace. They watched over everyone and made sure no mishap occurred.

“Ember, push me along while I meditate,” Lawrend said.

After saying those words, he crossed his legs and closed his eyes while still flying in the air. Ember then pushed his back along.

The three envoys glanced at each other and nodded approvingly. He was even using this time to practice magic. It doesn’t seem weird that he was this talented if that was the case.

They traveled in that manner for the whole day. They only stopped at nighttime, and that was when Lawrend opened his eyes.

“Master.”

Ember bowed at him.

The mages were setting up their own tents using the resources they gathered along the way.

“I finally created an army formation for it,” Lawrend said and smiled.

“What do you mean?”

Ember was clueless about the fact that magical formations could be turned into army formations. She also didn’t know that he was working on that.

“Stop what all of you are doing and make a formation neatly in front of me!” Lawrend ordered loudly.

The mages expected him to give them a lesson, so they immediately formed into a neat formation in front of him. The three envoys stood by the side and waited to hear Lawrend’s lesson for tonight.

“I won’t be giving a lesson tonight.”

Everyone looked confused: Ember, the three envoys, and the whole mage army.

“Rather, I will teach all of you an army formation I made,” Lawrend said.

“An army formation?”

The three envoys glanced at each other. The shock on their faces couldn’t be more obvious. They naturally realized something crazy.

“This army formation is derived from my magic formation creation. It is called the Elemental Storm Army Formation, and I wish all of you will show me a good performance.”

The hearts of the mages started beating fast. Something their emperor made would be amazing. They also heard some rumors about the formation he set up in Sunset City.

A formation master in the city inspected it and found it to be beyond his understanding. Although that formation master wasn’t well known or a great expert, his opinion still shocked those who heard it.

It meant that Lawrend could set up formations and create his own. That added, together with the fact that he was a talented mage, meant that he was a multi-talented person.

The mages were speechless.

“I only need 1% of His Imperial Majesty’s talent, and I will be set for life…” a mage whispered.

The mages around him nodded their heads in agreement. It was hard for them not to feel jealous. His Imperial Majesty definitely deserved to be called the son of heaven.

“Wind magic will be the foundation…”

Lawrend’s lecture rang throughout the whole night. The mages listened intently. The way the formation worked enchanted them.

The three envoys were shocked beyond words. This formation was similar to their formation, but several levels above it! His version was more efficient, powerful, and compact.

Ember was in a daze as she listened. Even she, who knew nothing about formations, was amazed. She suddenly felt insignificant before him.

It was a feeling of inferiority. No matter how much she worked hard, it would be impossible for her to surpass him.

Ember clenched her hands tightly. She told herself she wouldn’t lose to him. It was her pride and her lifelong desire to stand at the top of the world.

When she was young, she had nothing. Her family elders could decide what to do with her. Like her marriage, schooling, hobbies, friends, etc. Only when she showed a lot of talent did she sense a change in their attitude.

She became more and more powerful. And ultimately, she desired to control her own fate and not allow her family members to decide anything for her.

Alas, she fell into Lawrend’s grasp. It flipped her understanding of everything.

He was talented, handsome, dominating, and powerful, and for the first time, she fell in love. She was against being his maid, but she slowly realized it wasn’t so bad after all.

She was a maid but also his lover. It made her feel loved back and a sense of satisfaction.

So that was why she wouldn’t lose to him. She wanted to become more than a maid.