38 Greyrat History

A week passed since the assassination attempt on Rudeus. The heightened state of alert amongst the Boreas estate slowly went back to normal, and the tension in the air also slowly dissipated. And because Rudeus' identity as a hidden bodyguard had now been exposed, he no longer pretended to be Eris' training partner and instead openly protected her now.

True to her words, Ghislaine doubled Rudeus' training intensity. He had also made the outrageous request for her to spar against him with deadly intent. Meaning, she should not hold back from leaving wounds and cuts on his body, so long as no appendage was cut off and his neck remained intact.

She did not refuse this request, as Rudeus reassured her that his Healing magic was sufficient to heal injuries that were not fatal, unless an accident happened. And for a Sword King like Ghislaine, accidents don't happen during sword fights.

Though he hated that he was forced into a fight for his life against North Saint Kaballah, Rudeus could not deny that he had gained a lot from the battle. Being forced to the brink of life and death, with every move holding the possibility of killing him, his swordsmanship had only improved sharply from the pressure. So he sought to replicate this, albeit in a controlled environment, with Ghislaine.

After making that request, his training with the Sword King became much bloodier affairs.

Servants and guards went out of their way to avoid the training ground, since it started to look less like a place for training, and more like an execution field. There were some patches of grass that were now permanently dyed brown, from the oxidized and dried blood that had pooled on those patches.

And for the Boreas servants that were mostly staffed with Beastmen, there was now a strong and distinct coppery smell of blood that emanated from the training ground which stung their nose.

At the end of every 'sparring' session, Rudeus would look like the subject of a particularly sadistic torturer, with bloody gashes criss-crossing his body and arms, his palm and fingers torn with calluses, and bruises that discoloured his skin like a Jackson Pollock. He was able to recover these injuries nigh instantaneously, using incantationless Healing magic. After healing his wounds, he would jump right back to his training and soon after would require healing once more.

Aside from training swordsmanship with Ghislaine, Rudeus also started attending lessons on politics with Philip and Sauros. In these lessons, the older men would teach him about the various noble houses and the land that they ruled. They also described the notable figures from these houses, their personalities and any recent rumours they had heard about them. Most importantly, Philip and Sauros were pointing out who would be his enemies and who might potentially be an ally.

The Greyrat lineage was split into four noble houses - Boreas, Notos, Eurus, and Zephyrus.

The Greyrat name held a very special status in the Asura Kingdom, being the only noble lineage that had the right to rule over entire regions aside from the King's Region which was governed by the Royal Family. There were only five regions in the Asura Kingdom, and four of those five were ruled by the Greyrat lineage.

In other words, the Greyrats alone controlled more than an eighth of the entire Asura Kingdom. How could such a ridiculous political dynamic come to be? What was the first Asura King thinking when he gave such power to the Greyrat lineage? Couldn't the Greyrats theoretically come together and overthrow the Asura Royal family with such an influence?

These were the questions Rudeus had asked Philip and Sauros when he first learned of this. In response, the two Boreas men gave him a quick history lesson - history that was not common knowledge outside the circles of aristocracy.

The Asura Kingdom was founded by the first Asura King. This was well known to the citizens of this kingdom. However, it was actually the Greyrat noble lineage that played the biggest role in the Kingdom's current wealth, prosperity and status as the most affluent nation in the world.

The first generation Asura Kingdom was only a fifth of its current size. The earliest generations of the Greyrat family were valiant generals that fought and conquered the large swathe of land the Asura Kingdom now possessed.

For this meritorious service, and throughout the generations, the Kings and Queens of the Asura Kingdom rewarded the founder of the Greyrat family with the lands they had conquered. Moreover, they also conferred these lands to be hereditary, eternally passed down to their descendants, so long as they remained faithful servants of the Asura Kingdom.

Unknowingly, the Greyrat family were bestowed a large majority of the land within Asura Kingdom for them to rule. Generation after generation, the Greyrats, with their high libido, propagated quickly. To the point where it was not uncommon for rural peasants to mistake the Greyrats as the royal family instead of the rightful Asuras.

Many years had passed since then. And the original Greyrat noble lineage had eventually splintered into four different noble families. This did not happen by coincidence.

"From here on, it is only speculation. There is no evidence to our claims." Sauros had attached a disclaimer before he continued speaking.

The fracture of the Greyrat lineage did not occur out of coincidences. Instead, it had been carefully planned, manipulated and plotted by the Asura Royal Family! Though there existed no evidence to prove this claim, this was the theory that made the most sense to those who knew of this secret history.

The Greyrat family was after all way too powerful. Be it resources, armed forces and technological advancements, the Greyrats surpassed the royal family in almost every aspects. It was to the extent that it did not seem like the Asuras were the rulers of the kingdom, but the Greyrats were the true rulers instead. Foreign diplomats would first pay respect to the Greyrat patriarch before visiting the Asura King, peasants in rural villages mistook the Greyrats as the Royal Family, and minor nobles joked about changing the name of the Asura Kingdom to Greyrat Kingdom.

How could the Asura Royal Family tolerate this, even if the Greyrat never displayed an ounce of disloyalty? Their authority, their reputation, their royal prestige were all second to the Greyrats!

Thus, a plan was formed. A hushed whisper here, a nefarious plot there, and it took only a few decades for the ancient Greyrat nobility that had lasted for centuries to fracture into four factions that engaged in all-out war against one another, not realizing that behind the mantis stalking the cicada was an oriole secretly laughing.

There was a reason why the Eurus family hated the Notos family, with a grudge that lasted through generations. And also why the four branches of the Greyrat family never sought to reunite and combine their strength. The exact details themselves, Philip and Sauros did not know. But they were clear on one point – the Asura Royal Family would never let them unify and threaten their authority once more.

After this fracture and subsequent civil war, the Asura Royal Family had stepped in to 'mediate', officially splitting the once mighty and massive Greyrat family into four distinct noble families that were like oil and water despite sharing the same surname.

After hearing this story, Rudeus was stunned to hear of a secret history and conspiracy theory that spanned millennia. It was simply unbelievable to be honest. Of course, this was only the speculation amongst the inner circle of the Greyrat noble families. Too many years had passed for there to be any evidence of this plot to still exist.

If the Royal Family were not afraid of internal strife and the rebellion of nobles, they might have just followed through their insidious plots and ended the Greyrat bloodline. Though the Greyrat name still prospered, commonly associated with the highest echelons of nobility, they no longer had the singular dominance over Asura politics they once had before.

Sauros waited for Rudeus to compose himself before continuing on his description of the four Greyrat noble families.

Currently, the most powerful of these four was the main Boreas family, though the difference between them and the other houses wasn't that exaggerated.

The Boreas family had the support of the Prime Minister of the Asura Kingdom, who in turn was part of the first prince's faction. As a result, their influence and resources at their disposal was a notch above most, if not all noble families.

In second place was actually the Notos family, which had a close relationship with the Second Princess of Asura Kingdom - Ariel Anemoi Asura. Pilemon's son, Luke Notos Greyrat, had actually been tasked at a very young age into the appointment of being the Guardian Knight of the second princess.

Thus, Philip pointed out, if Rudeus wanted to take down the Notos family, the second princess might become a major obstacle in his path. Though there were limits to how much a royalty could interfere in the internal affairs of noble houses, they could still create a lot of trouble for Rudeus.

The Notos family were also famous and wealthy for their production of alcohol. And in this world where life was hard, filled with danger and death, alcoholism was not an uncommon condition amongst the inhabitants. As a result, alcohol production, which might not seem like a big deal, generated large amounts of wealth for the noble family.

The Eurus branch was a family of merchants, and in turn was the richest amongst the four Greyrat noble houses. They ruled over the Wishiru Region, considered by most to be the prosperous and affluent region outside of the Royal Capital because it is the doorway for the merchants that come from the south.

What they lacked, however, was political influence which had been clipped very early on by the former Kings of the Asura Kingdom. They were, on paper, the least politically powerful family amongst all high-ranking Asura nobility. Even though they had money, it wasn't a resource that could be thrown around casually without inviting trouble for their political enemies.

They tended to stay out of conflicts and power struggles, content with their vast wealth and relative peace. The Eurus family, Philip added, might become a potential ally but only if Rudeus could offer them political capital which was they needed the most.

As for the Zephyrus family, they were actually the best possible ally Rudeus could ask for! The Head of the Zephyrus family hated Pilemon deeply, because of some conflicts they shared a long time ago. The Zephyrus house actively moved to sabotage or damage the Notos family in any way possible, and the Notos family returned the favour eagerly as well. Their mutual hatred was a well known, open secret, among the Asura nobility.

Hence, Sauros advised Rudeus to approach them for an alliance as soon as he felt ready to declare war against the Notos family. Though the Zephyrus family was financially the weakest of the four Greyrat noble houses, they still stood firmly among the high-ranking noble houses of Asura Kingdom. They were responsible for the manufacturing of armaments for the northern half of Asura Kingdom, and also had a larger than average force of men-at-arms.

Rudeus felt overwhelmed after hearing everything. Factions, alliances and political machinations. He had zero experience in these matters. Thankfully, he could rely on the wisdom and experience of Sauros, who had thrived for decades in the arena of politics, and Philip, who had personally participated in a competition for the position of Notos family Head. Otherwise, he would have felt completely lost.

Philip also started teaching him Asura Kingdom's royal court etiquette. This was different from the noble salute Rudeus had learned before. Instead, it included things like table manners, fashion sense, and even the most minute and specific details of one's behaviour that were all scrutinised when interacting with nobility.

Rudeus also began to learn the language of other races. Beast God language, the common language of the Millis Continent; Demon God language, the common language of the Demon Continent; and the Fighting God language; the common language of the Begaritt continent.

"The power dynamics and factional alliances in the Central Continent are rather stiff. So you never know if you might ever need an alliance with an organization from another continent. The Begaritt continent and the Millis continent is the closest to our Central Continent so it's good to learn their language. Demon tribes are also usually strong warriors. Besides, learning the Beast God language makes it more fun when you are doing a beast girl."

"Hmm I see... wait what was that last part again?"