Ex-Rank Awakening: My Attacks Make Me Stronger - Chapter 276

Chapter 276: EX 276. Get Together
After Leon finished giving the emperor the details of his missing squadmates, their names, ranks, and everything that could be vital to the search. Alexander leaned back in his chair, absorbing every word with quiet focus. When Leon was done, the emperor nodded once.

“That won’t be a problem,” Alexander said finally. “As long as they’re within the empire’s borders, we’ll find them.”

Leon nodded. “Good. So… when do we leave?”

The emperor blinked, momentarily thrown off. “That’s all?”

Leon shrugged casually, almost like he was talking about a simple errand. “Can’t think of anything else right now. Maybe if I do, I’ll let you know.”

Alexander just stared at him, lips parting in disbelief. For a moment, he wondered if he’d misheard. The emperor of an entire domain had prepared himself to lose an arm, or worse, expecting impossible demands. But all Leon wanted was permission to assemble his own team and help locating a few missing people.

‘Too simple,’ Alexander thought, narrowing his eyes slightly. ‘Or… could it be he’s making it easy for me?’

That single thought changed something. His expression softened, the weight in his posture easing. When he finally looked back at Leon, there was a faint, almost paternal smile tugging at his face.

“Whatever else you might need,” he said, voice lighter now, “don’t hesitate. As long as it’s within my power, it will be done.”

Leon blinked, thrown off by the sudden warmth. “Uh… thanks?” he muttered, brow furrowing. ‘What’s with the sudden change in attitude?’ he wondered. ‘Must be an old people thing.’

Alexander rose from his seat. “We’ll meet with the Commander soon. The planning begins today.”

But before Leon could respond, the door swung open.

Rachel stepped in briskly, her footsteps echoing across the marble floor, followed closely by Adrian and a woman with dark hair tied neatly behind her head. Rachel’s tone was casual, though her eyes flickered between Leon and the emperor.

“Hope you don’t mind,” she said. “I brought a guest.”

The woman beside her, Agnes froze mid-step. Her eyes widened, color draining from her face as she recognized who stood before her.

“Y-your Grace!” she stammered, bowing so quickly it looked painful.

The entire room fell silent. Even the air seemed to pause as every gaze turned toward her.

****

The emperor of the Arman Empire was more than a ruler, he was a being of legend. In fact, anyone born into the imperial bloodline carried that same mythic weight. To the world, they weren’t just people; they were symbols, forces that stood above the tides of war and time itself. Alexander, seated before them, embodied that perfectly. A Rank Nine professional and sovereign of the entire human domain, his very existence felt like the center of gravity in the room.

So when Agnes dropped to her knees and pressed her forehead to the marble floor, no one found it strange. Her voice trembled with reverence. To greet the emperor this way was the proper order of things.

Well, almost no one found it strange.

Leon tilted his head slightly, a frown tugging at his face. ‘Isn’t that a bit much?’ he thought. Beside Agnes, Rachel and Adrian were thinking the exact same thing, though none of them said it out loud.

Alexander looked down at Agnes with calm authority. “You may rise.”

She obeyed instantly, standing with her hands clasped tightly in front of her, posture rigid and tone subdued, very different from the casual confidence she had back in the cafeteria.

Adrian’s eyes flicked toward the emperor, studying him quietly. ‘So this is the emperor,’ he thought, awe mixing with curiosity. Rachel, too, was watching him with sharp eyes.

Meanwhile, Alexander had his own thoughts. He glanced at the trio before him, his gaze soft but assessing. ‘So it’s not only the boy that acts that way,’ he mused, referring to Leon’s usual lack of deference.

For Leon, he could dismiss it as arrogance or eccentricity. But for these two, their calm composure, their lack of fear it felt different. ‘They’re not shocked,’ Alexander thought. ‘They simply don’t understand who I am or rather, they don’t care.’

His eyes narrowed slightly, a trace of intrigue glinting in their depths. ‘They’re geniuses too,’ he realized. ‘If the boy weren’t here, these two could’ve been trailblazers of a generation.’

Then his gaze settled on Rachel. His eyes lingered longer this time, scanning her with quiet precision. Something about her presence stirred a faint ripple of ancient familiarity within him. ‘The Great Tree’s presence is faint in her,’ he thought. ‘Could she be a bloodborn?’

A low hum of interest stirred in his chest. ‘It seems the boy isn’t the only one full of secrets.’

Alexander leaned forward slightly, his tone suddenly carrying a note of decision. “You two will be coming as well.”

Before any of them could respond, a soft shimmer pulsed through the room. The air twisted like liquid light, then, in an instant, Leon, Rachel, and Adrian vanished.

The chamber fell silent. Only Agnes remained, standing stiff and dazed, her mind struggling to catch up.

Her eyes darted around the now-empty room, and she muttered under her breath, “What the hell is happening?”

****

Commander Markus sat behind his desk, a mountain of documents stacked before him. His eyes were sharp despite the deep lines of exhaustion carving his face. Every report told the same grim story, the number of corrupted clusters was rising, spreading like a plague across the empire’s lands. Each new formation demanded soldiers and specialists the empire could no longer spare.

He rubbed his temple, muttering under his breath as his pen scratched across the latest report. Their borders were thinning, and even their strongest garrisons were being stretched to their limits. ‘If this keeps up, we’ll have nothing left to defend the capital with,’ he thought grimly.

Corruption had taken a heavier toll than any war in the last century. Soldiers who once stood proud under the imperial banner now either missing or… worse.

Markus leaned back in his chair, staring at the map pinned on the wall. Red markers bled across its surface, clustering around the empire’s frontiers. ‘If it weren’t for the fact that the other domains are facing the same chaos,’ he mused, ‘they’d have torn us apart by now.’

He sighed, reaching for another document, an assignment order. He was in the middle of deciding which platoon to send north when the air in his office rippled.

The commander froze, every instinct on alert. The ripple grew into a swirl of blue light, distorting the space before him. His hand went to the hilt of his sword. “Who dares—”

The words died in his throat.

The distortion folded inward, and out of it stepped a tall, broad-shouldered man draped in imperial gold and white, his presence radiating authority so heavy it pressed on the lungs. Behind him stood three others.