Primordial Soul's Rebirth

Melanochelys. The Black Tortoise Empire—the most secluded among the empires on land.

It was the region protected by the black tortoise, Bulma Graphia. She was one of the four mythical beasts, but until now, no one had seen her. Even the emperor of the Melanochelys Empire had never seen her; the closest he had been to her was 100 meters, and even then, he had only heard her voice. Nothing else.

But the beings in the Melanochelys Empire lived their lives in peace, minding their own business, only letting in some traders who came in to deal with the dwarven people.
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There was just one entry to the empire—the one used by anyone who wanted to enter the area. But the entry was only permitted for selected people and prohibited for humans and demons.

No human or demon was allowed inside the empire, especially the empirical city, which was guarded by the best barriers there were.

The barrier around the empire as a whole was not that strong; it was just a detection barrier, as no one was powerful enough to be able to protect the whole empire, not even the mythical beasts.

The capital, however, was a different matter. The capital was where the world tree, the source of the greenery in the Melanochelys Empire, was, making it the most important place.

That was why, even if some spies of other empires were able to enter the empire by somehow cheating the detection barrier, they could never enter the capital city.

Many people tried to do it, but all they got was eventual death. No matter what kind of aura-hiding device or artifact one takes, they could never last long inside the capital. One of the reasons why no empire had any information about how things were inside the Melanochelys Empire's capital city.

Today, a day much like others, the checking for those who had the permit to enter the capital city was going on. Two guards stood upright with golden armor covering them in whole, even their eyes, making them look impenetrable.

They were legendary ranked imperial guards, only 15 in total, all responsible for the protection of the empire and the capital city.

They were strong, but if there was more than one of them working together, they could defeat someone stronger than them, as they were trained to fight together more than fighting alone, and that was why no imperial knight ever stays alone.

Right now, two of the knights, Vaelith and Thranduil, were going through the people who were supposed to enter the imperial capital of the black tortoise empire.

They knew that there was no one who would dare enter the barriers of the Melanochelys Empire with ulterior motives, but their job was to always stay alert. They were supposed to work hard in order to not let any intruder enter the capital city, hence forcing their guardian beast to make a move.

The move she made was sending messages, but still, they didn't want to bother her at all, as per their emperor's orders.

"Here. This is my permit, sir."

A dryad, with a pass in his hands, moved toward the guard, showing him the permit that lets anyone enter the capital city, brightening up as he pushed his mana into it.

"You may enter."

The dryad was a noble, but even if he was, he was supposed to show respect to an imperial knight. The only ones the imperial knights bow to are the members of the imperial family. The only ones who are pardoned for showing them respect are the grand dukes, dukes, and marquises; other than them, everyone else has to greet them with respect.

"This is my permit, sir."

After the dryad was a dwarf, showing his pass to the knight, who, after staring at it for a while, waiting for it to brighten, which was taking longer than expected, moved his hand toward the sword strapped to his waist, making the dwarf nervous.

"W-What's wrong with this pass?"

The dwarf, knowing full well that his actions right now would make the knights unnecessary, hurriedly shook the pass, unsure why it wasn't working like it was supposed to, growing anxious, but the next second, the pass lit up.

"I-It's working now!"

The dwarf exclaimed, his eyes bright with relief, making the knight nod his head after a second.

"You may enter."

He gestured for the dwarf to enter the gate, letting him pass through, moving his gaze to the next person in line.

There were two lines at the gate of the city, one leaving and the other entering, and although there were not many people wanting to enter or leave, the atmosphere at the gate was always tense.

No one was supposed to even come close to the gate without a passholder with them, much less pass through, as that pass was made with the mana signature of the holder, and no one other than them could use it, making it impossible for anyone untrustworthy to enter the city by using the pass.

"Here's my permit, sir."

Another dwarf, more bluffed than the one before, stepped forward, showing his pass, which, just like the others, brightened the moment he pushed his mana inside the pass.

But the guard knight, instead of looking at him, was staring at the people behind him. Four girls, all with a beauty that transcends the normal sense, making it hard for people to even look away from them; the knights were no exception.

Their eyes were glued on the girls, not even looking at the dwarf, whose eyes, for a second, flashed with a cold light, but it was only momentary. No one noticed it happening.

"Who are they? And where are their passes?"

One of the knights, with his back straight, removed his head guard, showing his handsome face like any other elf would have, and long pointy ears, still staring at the girls, moved toward them, walking past the dwarf.

His lust for the girls was clear in his eyes, but no one really thought too much about it. No matter which empire it was, authority mattered, and the imperial knights or guards had a lot of authority, so what they did was not something people would try to go against, no matter who it was.

But just as Vaelith, an imperial knight, was moving toward the girls, he felt his hand being grabbed, causing his brows to frown, and the atmosphere stilled.

'Did he just stop me?'

That was all he thought, failing to notice that he wasn't even able to move anymore, turning to look at the dwarf, his eyes flashing with ruthlessness.

"You dare—"

But his words were cut short as he saw a letter with the imperial insignia being pressed against his palm, with the dwarf bowing his head in apology.

"They are his imperial highness, the crown prince's products. Please be mindful of what you do."

The dwarf muttered, passing the letter to the imperial knight Vaelith, who, with a frown, snatched the letter from the dwarf's hand, but as he did that, the letter was torn apart, and Vaelith, who saw that, grinned viciously.

"Oh no, the letter was torn even before I could even read it!"

He exclaimed, his expression that of pure disbelief, but everyone knew that it was just him acting, playing games with the dwarf.

'He's done for.'

Many people thought to themselves, offering their silent prayers to the poor dwarf, but things weren't over yet—Vaelith wasn't done just yet.

*Snap*

He snapped his finger, making the letter light up with fire, and threw it at the dwarf, his eyes widening in horror.

"What are you doing?! Why are you burning the letter?!?!"

With his eyes wide, he yelled in shock, still not moving from his spot, staring down at the dwarf.

"I will have to take all of you into custody right this instant!"

The next second, Vaelith donned his head guard back, gripped his sword, and spoke righteously.

"I shall start with the ladies!"

And with those words, he moved toward the ladies behind the dwarf, his intentions clear to everyone, but no one said anything. The females did look at the girls with pity, but there was nothing else that could be done.

Most of the males, on the other hand, just stared at Vaelith enviously, but before Vaelith could even touch one of the ladies, the one with red hair and red eyes, a sigh—one that seemed to be filled with relief and defeat at the same time—was heard.

"See? I told you that we should just force our way in."

As soon as those words were heard, everyone turned toward the owner of the voice, the dwarf, who now had his palm on his forehead.

His actions and his words caused both Vaelith and Thranduil to frown.

"What the hell are you blabbering, you pipsquick?"

Vaelith, who was already annoyed by the dwarf, questioned, turning his head to look at the short and buff dwarf. And Thranduil, who was standing a bit far away, also stepped closer with his guard up.

"Hah..."

The dwarf, on the other hand, just sighed again, and the next second, a bright light flashed from the dwarf's body, causing both the imperial knights to tense as they drew their swords, but how could they have known that the one in front of them was far from the normal dwarf they thought him to be?