Extremely sorry for the delay. My schedule is and will be messed up for the next couple of days. I will be travelling. But once that ends, hopefully I will be back to my lovely hometown. So, the release time of the chapters will be in a bit of disarray for the next few days. But once that is over- I will hit everyone with a burst of mass releases. I apologise in advance for the inconvenience. Stay tuned!

The Empire- the nation was built upon the disparity between the strong and the weak, the rich and the poor, the influential and the influenced- the nobles and the commoners.

The Imperial family, along with majority of the nobles, looked down upon the plebeians- using them to their own benefits, filling their ever growing coffers, satiating their greed. The weak commoners could only suffer and oblige.

The greed and the tortures of the strong kept increasing, and so did the misery of the weak. It went to the point that almost every commoners could be called a slave of the nobles- whether they had the markings of a slave or not.

But the heavens were not blind. Even though most of the talents were monopolised by the nobles due to their strong genes. Some commoners would be gifted with incredible talents once in a while. After all, the commoners outnumbered the nobles to a great degree.

But without unity, those talents were meaningless. Because the noble geniuses outnumbered the ones with commoner blood.

But the Imperial family and their compatriot noblemen were destined to step upon a thorn- no- a whole vine of them.

Because in a span of a generation- the Empire gave birth to five supreme geniuses. And three of them belonged to the ones without blue blood.

And to add salt to the arrogant aristocrats, the three individuals grew up to be highly competent and worst of all- they decided to join together.

Many of the ‘slaves’ who were fed up of their ‘masters’ and their tortures flocked to the three. The small party of commoners grew at an unbelievable pace. And soon, they came to be known as-

The Rebellion.

A civil war erupted. Many noble families- be it the large or small- became part of the history. Despite the rebels’ unusual guerrilla tactics, and close connections to the Underworld and outside forces like the Confederation- the Rebellion faced a loss greater than that of their richer counterparts.

The three ‘pioneers’ were reduced to two.

The winners of the war- none. It’s not as if the war completely stopped.

But only the Rebellion was the faction that gained something worthwhile of their sacrifice. As for the Imperial family and the noble faction- the only thing they gained was a new enemy.

The Rebellion became one of the four major factions in the Empire along with the nobility, the Church, the underworld. Moreover, their relations with the Underworld were friendly and its connection with the Church was one of neutrality.

The nobility figured they had hit a hard wall and were forced to take a step back. They decreased the torture they inflicted upon the plebeians by a degree, and the slave trade became a little secretive. After all, no matter how powerful they were, if more than ninety percent of the entire population of the behemoth nation decided to act against them- the result would be obvious.

Besides, the commoners were nowhere near to becoming their most troublesome foe. If anything- they were an annoyance. The Imperial family already had to deal with two factions inside their own borders- the Church and the Empire. And outside- the Confederation stood as strong as ever.

But the worst of dangers lurked in the North, laying dormant in the wilderness.

Hence, they chose to decrement the disparity between themselves and the commoners- giving the Rebellion a reason to not come out with their weapons once again.

And they succeeded- somewhat. The Rebellion functioned, to a certain degree, like the Underworld. They appeared, punished the nobles that ‘crossed the lines’ and disappeared before the Imperial forces could do anything.

But the Imperial family did not mind. As long as the pleb forces did not cross the invisible line and start another full scale war, they could share the same territory with them.

The Rebellion understood and stayed low, and grew- slowly, but steadily. Their bases now spanned across the entire Empire, with offices back at the Confederation.

And their main base, without any doubt, was located where it ought to be- the Capital of the Empire- Uropolis, right under the noses of their nemeses.

Adrian, Irene and Cassidy made their way to the base through an underground tunnel.

There were no stairs that led upwards. The base was underground. There was a huge door before them.

The red masked leader stepped forth and touched a small panel beside the door just like how he did it back at the tree, a circle appeared and the door began to rumble open.

Adrian, along with everyone, stepped in.

Unlike what someone would expect from an underground base- the establishment was grand to say the least. The floor was mosaicked with marble. Familiar light magic circles were drawn on the ceilings that emitted natural sunlight.

The blue eyes of his ‘mother-in-law’ flashed in his mind.

Numerous circles were needed to illuminate the huge room. Along the walls, there were dozens of doors.

“Surprised that our base has a huge hall?” The man looked back, only to see the nonchalant faces of Adrian and Irene and the lifeless eyes of Cassidy.

He coughed. “It’s a defence mechanism. There are tens of trapping circles hidden in this very hall.” He turned back ahead and began to walk forward.

The four accompanying him moved away. Only the trio followed him.

“Honestly, we were surprised that our contacts back at Edenshield would recommend someone.” The man said, looking ahead as he walked. “But I am sure you are highly competent to grab his eyes. He is picky after all.”

They finally reached the end of the hall, where the biggest door was at.

“Our leader is just behind this door.”