Rise of the Almighty Warlord Grandmaster

The lighting in the expansive study seemed to grow dimmer as Sylvester Wright wheeled himself in. As his sharp eyes took in the environment, he caught sight of his wife, Emily, hunched on a couch, her eyes empty and distant. She stared into space, a small crease on her forehead.

For the past few days, she seemed to zone out more, becoming a shadow of herself. The smoke from the teacup in her hands grew faint.

He let out a sigh, wheeling himself in her direction. She wasn't aware of his presence; or so he thought.

"Disappearing again?" Her sharp words cut into the silence faster than he could take his next breath. She turned to him, a feigned smile on her face. "For what? Six days? A week? Forever this time?"

Clearing his throat for a moment, Sylvester thought of what to tell her. He could tell that she was getting to her breaking point. Could he blame her though? She had been patient enough.

"I'll be back soon, Emily," he assured, his voice calm. "And I'll explain everything to you."

Emily shook her head at him, tears threatening to blur her vision, "Explain what? All you have ever been to me is a burden." She yelled, throwing the teacup in his direction.

She burned with fury as it all came rushing back to her. She was at the edge of her breakthrough when matriarch Anne had come with the suggestion of her getting married. In her words, Emily was such a successful young woman but she would have more respect, and even stand the chance of inheriting the family's legacy if she was a married woman.

If only she had discerned that her grandmother's suggestion was not out of concern but out of her cruel heart.

Emily recalled the shock that had sunk her stomach in when she saw the man she was to get married to. A crippled no-body. She was appalled, from what she was told, the man, Sylvester was rescued from the roadside, injured and comatose.

"So, this was the best our successful business woman could do as regards picking her husband," the matriarch, her grandmother, had announced at the family meeting in front of everyone.

"But grandmother..." Emily had tried refuting.

She was interrupted by a slender, wrinkled finger raised in opposition to her. "Quiet!" Grandmother ordered. "You have brought shame to this family by getting married to this man. I've always known you were incapable of handling this family's legacy but this is just the height! Now I have no choice but to make your brother the heir. You will give him all your shares at once, young woman!"

And just like that, her career had taken a dive south. All her partners, everything she worked for had disappeared like they never existed and her brother had become an overnight success. All because she had gotten married to a cripple.

Emily had never held Sylvester responsible for anything anyway. She had always tolerated him and managed to live in peace with him, until she took notice of his frequent disappearance every month for several days, during which he was always completely unreachable and untraceable. She could use his riddance however if she didn't notice that along with him went tens of thousands of dollars unexplainably.

Three years had gone by with this monthly incurrence and Emily was not having it anymore. She might have been foolish to have married him without her knowledge, but she would not keep quiet and watch him ruin her finances. She wanted out!

A groan escaped Sylvester's lips as the teacup crashed against his legs and broke. He stared at Emily in disbelief, yet with a sense of compassion within him for her. She had the right to be angry

If only she knew who she was speaking with. If only she knew she was married to a warlord for the past three years. If only she understood the might of a single word from his lips but he was forced to hide it all away from her just to save her.

Three years ago, he had fought what was the fiercest war in all his years as a warlord. He had led his troops in a battle to defend the country against their relentless enemies. They were able to dissemble the enemies at the borders just before they successfully crossed in. They were victorious against them, but it was short-lived.

Just as they rounded up the border and waited to depart, a second band of the enemies, who had successfully gotten in and waited in ambush had sprung up on them, taking them by surprise. They were stronger and more bloodthirsty than the first band. There was bloodshed like never before as the opposing army was targeted at killing him in particular.

Eventually, he was able to successfully detangle himself from the soldiers who had outnumbered him. With all he had, he lunged at them, successfully taking them out but one of them had managed to deal him a fatal strike on his legs before passing out.

Exhausted by the strain and pain, he had passed out just after managing to pull himself to a roadside.

As the cup crashed against his legs, this painful memory resurfaced, and he bit back a groan.

A glint of remorse flashed across Emily's face for a split second. "You have to tell me exactly where you're going, Sylvester!" She pressed, shoving the guilt she felt to the back of her mind. "I want to know where you go and what the hell you do with the money you keep taking."

Sylvester remained silent, his breathing slowly growing labored, "Emily, you have to calm down. I can't say anything or you'd be in danger.

Irritated, she burst out, "Answer me this instant otherwise, we are getting divorced!"

"What? You want a divorce?" Sylvester stared wordlessly at Emily.

The desperation and frustration on her face weighed down heavily on him. The pain in his legs could not compare to that in his heart as he watched her breakdown. "You shouldn't say things like that, Emily." He sighed. Wasn't a divorce simply going too far? He was almost close to his goal.

This was the most he could do in his state. "Knowing too much right now is not good. I promise to explain everything to you when I'm done. Trust me." He moved his wheelchair closer to her.

"Don't come closer, Sylvester." Emily felt a rollercoaster of emotions wash over her. He sounded genuine, like he really cared. Yet, his secretive ways told her another story. A million theories flew around her mind as to his reason, but there was no good conclusion.

"I want to know, Sylvester!" She cried out, her hands grabbing a fistful of her hair. "Are you in trouble? After all, ever since we've gotten married, I've been ridiculed. What more are you hiding that would ridicule me more? You're making it worse with your sneaky behavior. Do you even know the rumors flying about?"

A frown graced his brows. "Emily, don't listen to the rumors. You and I know it's not true. You know people will always talk," he tried to persuade her, but she shot him a glare. Confused, he questioned, "What rumors are those anyway?"

"Yes, of course they will talk. They might as well be right!" She lashed out, tears streaming down her face. "How can I be sure that you're not spending my hard-earned money on some mistress out there, huh? Rumors travel fast, you know!"

"Are you playing me for a fool? Because that's exactly how I feel right now!" Her voice was barely above a whisper as she asked.

Sylvester was ruffled by her words. He was pained deeply, to say the least. How could she think so low of him? He wondered, hurt, sinking his morale.

"I might be disabled right now, Emily," but I'm not an unfaithful man. Loyalty is my core value," he started, wheeling himself even closer to her.

She stared up at him with a tear-stained face, her hand clutching something on her chest.

"Emily, you're my wife. We might not have gotten married under the perfect circumstances, but I am committed to you," he urged her, his voice laced with concern and care.

Her eyes burned into his eyes, conflicting emotions swirling in them.

"Listen, Emily, I will repay you all the money. I would tell you what I am doing if I can, but right now, I can't. I won't cheat on you. I care about you-"

"Just stop it!" She snapped angrily. Her chest rose and fell, as she glared at him. Her fingers clenched tighter on the object on her chest, which seemed to fuel her anger even more.

"Listen, a man who I have to provide for is not worthy of being a husband, talk less of being my husband," her voice was firm with a slight falter. "I need a man capable enough to take care of me too. I deserve a hero, too!"

Her words struck his heart like spiked whips.

"Look at this," she spoke, finally revealing what was clutched in her hands.

It was a beautiful pendant with intricate details in its edges hanging on a thin chain. It gave off a simple yet elegant appearance. "Do you know where I got this?" Emily uttered, swinging the chain.

Sylvester didn't have much time to think about it, though.

"I got it from a brave man, a hero, who rescued me from being killed in a terrible battle!" Her sharp, cold voice sent him crashing back to the present.

"I want a man like that, Sylvester. That's the kind of man I want, Sylvester and this is why I can't love you. You are not him and you can never be!" Emily's words crashed against Sylvester's ears and he seemed to be thrust back to that time at the war front.

That pendant hanging on her neck was a key that unlocked the memory that remained locked in his memory.

It was the crux of the war against the first band at the borders, he had driven his sword down the chest of an assailant and he caught sight of a lady crouched in a corner of the field.

She was scarcely covered by the elephant grasses behind which she hid.

"Cover me!" He yelled at his soldiers, moving stealthily towards her. The pendant, a family heirloom, swung on his neck as he advanced towards her.

Suddenly, an enemy appeared in front of him, "Run!" He had yelled at the scared lady as he lunged at the approaching opponent. He saw as she scurried to her feet, feeling a relief before facing the enemy.

"Thank you," her voice faintly floated into his ears.

The battle had ended in victory, but to his dismay, the pendant on his neck had mysteriously disappeared.

He rushed back to the border to find the pendant, but there was no sign of it anywhere. Its disappearance zapped him of energy, which gave the second band of opposing soldiers an advantage over him. It was a family heirloom, and its sentimental value was worth over twenty generations. He was disappointed in himself to have lost it in the war-or so he thought. Now, as he stared at the pendant that swung like a pendulum from the chain in the hands of the damsel that had been rescued by him, he felt a surge of energy within him.

She was the one.

How had he not seen the pendant on her for the three years of their marriage? He wondered.

Feeling a sense of rejuvenation overwhelm him, Sylvester's frown eased onto a warm smile. She hung the beautiful pendant back on her neck, and he could not help but admire it on her. It fitted her perfectly. However the sadness on her face pricked his heart, and he wanted to ease her pain.

Sylvester clutched the edges of his wheelchair, struggling to rise to his feet and embrace her, but his legs were too weak to hold him up. Realizing his failure, he braced himself, crashing on the ground and falling just at her feet.

"Just give up already," Emily laughed, her eyes glinting with mockery. "It's pitiful watching you struggle like this. It's pointless." Her voice rang with apathy as she chastised him like a bad child and he raised his head slowly to find a mocking smile on her face.

Sylvester lowered his head, a smile on his face. He still needed more time before the operation would be successful. "Please help me up." He said but she turned around.

He could sense the overwhelming frustration in her faltering steps as she strolled to the desk and ruffled the documents on it slightly before pulling out a slip that looked like a cheque.

"Take this." Her eyes were dim and brimming with unshed tears. "It was bad enough that everything I worked for got destroyed by our marriage. Since you want to make it worse and ruin me completely, you can have the last million and use it as you please. I hope you're happy. Just so you know, this is the end of anything between us!"

Sylvester stared at the cheque blankly, an overwhelming sense of guilt settling on him.

Her family leveraged this shameful marriage to him to take away the billion dollar company she had built with the ten million dollars she was given as a child. Emily had been able to maximize it even better than her brother could, yet they had seized almost all of it and given it to her brother, and they still wanted her to give up the family business.

"Emily, I understand your pain but..." Sylvester spoke, looking at her from his place on the floor. Why couldn't he just get up! He needed to show her the hero he could be too. However, these damned legs.

Emily shook her head. "No. I'm done, Sylvester. Our marriage-this..." she stared point blankly, her fingers gesturing to the distance between them. "...was never meant to be. My family made us come together in order to defeat me, and as much as it hurts me to admit it, they've been successful. I have almost nothing now. All that I worked for with my sweat and blood has gone to my brother all because of you."

Her heart weighed down on her as her family's conflict and cruelty towards her rushed back to her mind. She barely paid any attention to his struggling frame anymore.

Tears rolled down her cheeks at this point.

Sylvester sighed deeply, supporting his struggling frame with his hands. "I know, Emily, but we can make it work. Trust me, we could be at the edge of a major breakthrough if you'd just be patient with me. I'm working on something, and it's almost done," he assured, but she seemed to have made up her mind.

"There's nothing that can be done to fix us. Staying together will only make the both of us continually be ridiculed and mocked by my family," she stated plainly, walking around the desk to gather the documents that were spread on it. "Look, I just want to be alone. I have prepared the divorce papers and I'm waiting for your signature."

He watched with a heavy heart as she cast a forlorn look back at him, the conflict in her eyes obvious even to the blind. She wanted a man who would save her from her family. He was that man, Almighty War Lord Sylvester, but her heart was too weak to hope any longer.

A strange sensation shot up the bones in Sylvester's legs, and his eyes narrowed. This energy! Could it be?

He released more strength into his arms and painstakingly struggled to rise. Power seemed to course through the muscles of his thighs, fueled by the intensity of his drive. He wanted to show Emily that he was all she needed.

He heaved a breath, "Just give me one more day. One day and everything will fall into place."

Sylvester felt a warmth in his once paralyzed legs. He was delighted. Finally, the years of secret rehabilitation had paid off. He fixed his gaze on Emily, what would be her reaction?

A small smile appeared on Emily's face, "I'm giving you one day to leave my house, Sylvester." She hissed, turning her back to him

Suddenly, the door to the study burst open, and a curious and frantic Isabella, Emily's mother, rushed into the room. She cast a fleeting glance at Sylvester, who was still on the floor before rushing over to her daughter whose shoulders were slumped in defeat.

"Emily darling, why do you look so sad?" She asked, her arms embracing Emily in a warm hug. Seeing the situation, she understood immediately what was going on. Isabella had never liked Sylvester and this was her chance to ridicule him more.

She turned around, pointing a finger at the man, "What good are you as a son-in-law if my daughter is being harassed and you can do nothing except sit in that wheelchair and spend her money recklessly? Do you even-"

She stopped abruptly, her eyes widening in shock.

Confused, curious, and afraid, Emily slowly turned around, and her eyes nearly popped out of their sockets.

A loud gasp escaped Emily's parted lips. Her eyes were wide as saucers, and her jaw slacked.

In all his glory and vitality, Sylvester stood before them without an aid. His eyes appeared sharper, his frame taller. His stance exuded a powerful aura that almost swept them off their feet, and an air of mystery surrounded him.

"Sylvester?" Emily whispered, disbelief written all over her.

Sylvester looked at her, his eyes brimming with strength, "Emily, give me the chance to make it up to you." He said, taking a step towards her as fire burned in his veins.