8 Chapter 8 : Challenge Hall (1/2)

Early morning, the kingdom was bustling with activities as the people were excited to watch the battles. But, deep down everyone was only excited to see the thunder squad in action and prayed that the royals would put up a fight.

All have witnessed the strength of thunder squad members especially Freya ,they doubted whether any royal would be able to take their princess away from them.

If anyone asks, ”Who's the strongest in the empire?”

The last person they would think would be her. She sure knows how to surprise everyone with her agile attacks.

According to the instructions received from the ministers during the banquet, the royals reached the challenge hall. It was dome shaped with crystals on the outer surface. There was guards at the door, checking and they bowed when they saw the royals.

One among the guards, guided them into the hall and as they entered, they were amazed to see the crowd on both sides. A huge battle ground was in the middle of the hall surrounded by spectators.

As the crowd saw the royals entering, they cheered for them which made the royals smile and nod at them. Usui was the last among the royals and as he looked around, he saw a small girl clapping against the barrier, near the door. She was clapping so enthusiastically that she failed to notice her body was halfway over the barriers.

As she was about to fall, Usui reached out and caught her on time. He held her in his arms and smiled while patting her back,” Be careful, little one.”

The little girl smiled at him when she heard her parents calling out to her in worry. Usui looked at her parents and nodded at them while he handed the kid back.

Before he could let go, the kid tugged at his sleeve which made him retract his hands while he looked at her puzzled.

The girl chuckled and kissed his cheek, ”Thank you for saving me.”

He smiled and rubbed her head and handed her over to her parents. All of his interactions were noticed by a pair of eyes , which he overlooked.

As he reached the royals standing at one corner, he heard the crowd go wild and turned to find that the thunder squad had entered the hall.

He noticed Freya ,who was leading the group with a small adorable animal on her shoulder. Jinha was grinning and flirting while Hak was observing the security. Liz had a book on her hand and walked in while reading. Zeno looked serious as if he was ready to go into battle anytime.

Usui had his eyes on her from the beginning, he felt like it has been a long time since he saw her but in real, has only been a day. He was controlling his emotions but a smile was breaking out from his lips.

Zelal ,who already entered the hall before the royals, was exasperated seeing his brother control himself. He for one knew that if there were no people at the moment, his brother would have ran and hugged her.

Every though the royals have heard about the thunder squad fame, they purely believed that it was all fluke or that they just had good luck.

When everyone reached the ground, the thunder squad members were at ease, they even found a bench for themselves while they did their thing.

Freya stood up when she noticed the king along with the little prince arrive. On seeing her stand, the rest of the members stopped what they were doing and stood behind Freya and bowed to the king. It was obvious that they treated Freya as their leader.

Jinha noticing the smug faces, smirked, ”They must be thinking we just had good luck.”

Liz smiled which was breathtaking enough to make the royals heart beat fast, but the next sentences made their face flush in anger.

”Well this is not something new, I can't remember how many smug faces I have wiped off. I just hope they could put up a fight.”