'My son? Is he Thaddeus' father?'
Realization dawned upon Noah after he heard those words.
He hastily performed another bow in excuse.
"I'm sorry Your Majesty for not recognizing you!"
Thaddeus' father just waved his hand and scoffed softly.
The space-ring in Noah's hands moved by itself and floated toward the cultivator in the air.
Noah stared at it with wide eyes, he had never seen a mental energy so powerful!
'His sea of consciousness must be in the heroic ranks!'
The man inspected the ring and nodded before turning to leave.
"Your Majesty, please wait. I wonder if you could solve some of my doubts about this mission."
The cultivator stopped his tracks and turned to stare at the young man on the wasted mountain path.
"I guess you deserve some clarification to improve our future cooperation. Go ahead, ask me what you want."
Noah had a lot of doubts in his mind, everything about that mission didn't feel right.
"Why was the force of the Muwlos family so weak? As a large-size noble family, they should have rank 3 cultivators to use. And why was our force so weak? I bet that there are stronger criminals in your prisons."
Noah couldn't help but think that this mission was way less important than what Thaddeus made it seem.
'Sure, there were cultivators a with rank 4 bodies, yet those should still be simple pawns if I consider the powers where they came from.'
The cultivator in the air thought for a bit after hearing Noah's words and then answered in a calm tone.
"You can think of this mission as a probe."
Noah listened attentively.
"Since the creation of our dynasty, the noble families have always tried to gain more power. Well, it's in the human nature to strive for greatness, if the chance presented itself, everyone would aim for the position of King."
"However, the conditions for our rule were fair and the nation developed under our domain. That's why there have never been that many revolts in the last two thousand years. There weren't many willing to risk their positions for the Cause."
"Yet, a cultivator of the light element appeared and many nobles loyal to the Cause felt that their time to rise had come. You might not know it but a rebellion is likely to happen in the next decades."
'So, it's still about Daniel. The nobles are betting on him for dethroning the Elbas family. He still has to explain everything though.'
"As for your questions, you are right, both us and the Muwlos family have stronger soldiers. Yet, a cultivator in the third rank is extremely valuable, only one step away from becoming an entity in the heroic ranks, powerful families are unwilling to use them as disposable soldiers. Also, our system is quite strict so to obtain a rank 3 cultivation technique you must have shown loyalty toward your organization. Sending them in battle would raise the importance of the mission."
Noah lowered his head.
He understood that rank 3 cultivators were at the peak of the human ranks.
'Thaddeus told me that I had to join them if I wanted a rank 3 cultivation technique too, I guess they really value those soldiers.
Nevertheless, that still didn't completely explain the situation.
"Your Majesty, are you saying that an heir of a large-size noble family is less valuable than a soldier with a rank 3 dantian?"
Thaddeus' father sighed and shook his head.
"Young man, you must understand that the bigger one organization is, the more there will be internal fights. The Muwlos family didn't completely trust the Cause so their patriarch had limited resources. The same goes for my branch of the Royal family. There is a tacit agreement between the powerful forces not to use strong cultivators for these missions because the moment rank 3 cultivators fight, even those in the heroic ranks would be dragged in the battle. The last thing we want is a war through all the country."
"So, the Muwlos family sent their heir as a representative for the nobles while our family's branch was appointed to handle the situation. My son and I work at close contact with peculiar individuals and want to create a hidden army with them, yet we can't hire every single criminal."
There was silence for an instant.
"We need to test them. We need to skim them. We need to be sure that, once that army is created, they won't turn against us."
Noah finally understood the meaning of his words.
"Your Majesty, are you saying that the noble families were just probing your reaction while you were just testing your new force?"
The man nodded and replied calmly.
"Exactly. The Muwlos family attempted to gain some advantage out of their Cause and failed. The Royal family was testing its new army and obtained some results. In any case, the nobles can still create a new academy, even without our techniques, they were just unsure of our reaction."
'Basically, it was just a casual matter in his eyes.'
"Do we have that little value in your eyes?"
Noah couldn't help but ask.
He felt like his actions didn't matter at all, as if he had fought for a small political game between the Royals and the nobles.
"Well, there is a genius in every generation. Your situation is peculiar because of your element but, until you reach the heroic ranks, you will always be just one human."
The cultivator in the air turned to leave but then stopped as if remembering something.
"Oh, you might be happy to know that we are willing to make you the captain of our new force. Keep working for us like you did till now and your future will be ensured."
Noah showed a bright smile and bowed, excitedly thanking him for his words.
Yet, Noah's eyes under the hood were dark and cold, the position of the captain didn't appeal to him in the slightest.
He raised his head and saw that the man had disappeared, leaving him alone on the battlefield.
Anger filled him as he went back to the cave on the side of the mountain.