Chapter 310: Good Things Should Belong To The Family
(Disclaimer: I made a mistake on this chapter. As you may have already seen, this is a very long chapter and the reason for this is because I accidentally posted 2 chapters instead of one. There are 2 chapters in this novel, and one of them is “Chapter 311 Sancus and William’s Fated Meeting [Part 1]”. Because it is already included here, you don’t need to unlock it on the next chapter. Thank you.)
“General, there is movement from the Fortress!” a Captain of the Zelanian Army reported. “The gates are opening!”
Raghnall Hakim Aoife, the Divine Champion of the Zelan Dynasty, frowned when he heard the report. Even so, he walked out of his tent and stood at the front of the army to see what the Hellanians were up to. His short, dark-brown hair swayed in the wind as he gazed at the battlefield.
Using his enhanced vision, he saw a man with gray hair, along with two other men, walk out of the gates of the fortress and start to walk in the direction of the Zelanian Army.
One of the men was holding a blue flag in his hands, which meant that they wanted to have a dialogue with them. This was very common, especially during war times, when two armies were about to have a life and death battle.
“Now, this is interesting,” an old man said as he stood beside Raghnall. “It’s been years since I’ve seen this bastard. Looks like he still has a few good years left in him to be able to remain in this world.”
To everyone’s surprise, the old man started to walk, with the help of his walking stick, towards the three men, who had stopped in the halfway point between the Hellan Fortress and the Zelanian Army.
Raghnall sighed as he followed behind the old man. Some of the Captains wanted to follow them, but Raghnall waved them off telling them that he and the Army’s Strategist would handle the matter on their own.
A few minutes later, James, Damian, and Gideon faced off against the old man, and Raghnall, at the center of the battlefield. Both sides stood a few meters away from each other and eyed one another with calm expressions on their faces.
After a few minutes, the old man walked towards James until he was only a meter away from him. Suddenly, the stick in the old man’s hand turned into a short spear. Without any warning, the old man thrust the spear straight towards James’ chest with the intention of piercing his heart.
At least, that was what should have happened, but a powerful hand held the blade of the spear in a firm grip, preventing it from hitting its target.
“It’s good to see that you’re still a hale and hearty old geezer,” James said with a smile. “I thought you had already kicked the bucket.”
The old man snorted as he glared hatefully at James, “How can I die when I know you’re still alive? I’ll only be able to leave this world in peace on the day I spit on your corpse.”
“Well, I don’t plan on dying anytime soon,” James replied. “Do your best to live for a century, you old fart, maybe then you’ll get the opportunity.”
The old man transformed the spear back into a walking stick and stood perfectly straight. He was like a General on the battlefield that was about to lead his troops to battle.
“So? Are you here to offer your unconditional surrender?” the old man, who was notoriously known as Old Executioner by the Zelanian Army, asked.
His name was Hugo Aakil Aoife, the father of Raghnall, as well as the father of James’ wife, Erza. Naturally, he hated James with a vengeance. It was because he wasn’t there when his beloved daughter Erza…
Seeing the hostility on the old man’s face, James couldn’t stop himself from sighing in his heart. He knew that the Aoife family wanted him dead, much more than Aramis wanted him dead.
His in-laws were a Martial Family through and through and had been Generals in the military ever since the Zelan Dynasty was founded. James had a hard time making them agree to his proposal to marry Erza many years ago.
The Overlord of Lont willed the painful memories to go to the back of his mind as he focused on the two people in front of him. He knew that since Hugo was here, their chances of reaching a compromise had succeeded by half.
“Are you mute? I told you to speak!” Hugo glared at James who was reminiscing about the past.
James cleared his throat before answering. “I came here to tell both of you not to attack the fortress for a few days. I know that you have already received news that the forces of the Aenasha Dynasty have broken through Windsor Fortress and are currently on their way towards the capital.”
“Since you already knew that then why are you still here?” Hugo inquired. “Shouldn’t you go back as well and act as reinforcements to your King?”
“Why should I go and help him?” James asked back. “The King exiled my son, Morgan, from the Southern Continent. I have no reason to help him.”
“Heh~ do you really think I’m stupid?” Hugo snorted. “Tell me the real reason why you are asking us not to attack. Now that your Archmages are gone, at most, it will only take us two days to break the walls of your fortress. If I get lucky, I might even get the chance to spit on your corpse after we burn your kingdom to the ground.”
James smiled as he crossed his arms over his chest. “In order for a new king to sit on the throne of the kingdom, the old one must be disposed of. This war is the perfect opportunity to wipe out the lineage of the Royal Family. When they’re gone, the throne will be up for grabs.”
“Oh, so you plan to stage a civil war?” Hugo sneered. “I knew that you were a bastard, but I never knew that you were a traitorous bastard.”
“I plan to make my son, Mordred, the new King of the Hellan Kingdom,” James said with a smile. “Good things should belong to The Family, isn’t that right?”
Hugo and Raghnall narrowed their eyes. Both of them weren’t stupid and immediately understood what James was hinting at.
The father and son pair exchanged a glance before looking back at James with serious expressions on their faces.
“How confident are you?” Hugo asked.
“As long as the private army of the Aoife family moves then the chances of success are eighty percent,” James answered without batting an eye.
“Eighty Percent…,” Hugo muttered. “So you mean to say that we will play Fisherman when the war between the two sides reaches a conclusion?”
James nodded his head. “Although the Zelanian Army are warriors that are not afraid to die on the battlefield, the two of us fighting against each other will just create unnecessary casualties on both sides. You already know that even if you reject this offer, you will not get out of this battle unscathed.”
The Overlord of Lont grinned evilly. “I’m confident that I can wipe out half of your forces and escape with my life. By then, your shares will be smaller when you divide the Hellan Kingdom.”
“Even if what you say is true, so what?” Hugo replied. “Land is still land No matter how big or small it is, it will still belong to us.”
James quieted down and stared at Hugo with disdain. This lasted for a minute before the gray-haired man voiced out his thoughts.
“Are you sure about that?” James asked. “I’m sure you already know that someone is pulling the strings from behind. I have a hunch that even if this Kingdom was conquered, you and the Aenasha dynasty wouldn’t be able to hold it for long. You’re just puppets being played with by the puppeteer.”
It was now Hugo’s time to become silent. As the retired Chief Strategist of the Dynasty, he had long since noticed tell-tale signs that something was amiss about this war. The heads of the clans called out for conquest, and the King readily agreed to start a war.
None of this made sense and Raghnall had already confessed to him that he had misgivings about the orders from the higher-ups.
“Seven days,” Hugo said as he turned his head to walk back towards the Zelanian Encampment. “Let’s talk again in seven days.”
Raghnall gave James one last glance before following behind his father. He was also against this war because he had a feeling that they were being used as pawns by an unknown player behind the scenes.
This was something that he couldn’t accept and the main reason why he hadn’t ordered an all out war against the Hellan Kingdom and simply settled for short skirmishes.
Now that James had given them an alternative, both father and son decided to wait a week to see what the outcome of the war between the Hellan Kingdom and the Aenesha Dynasty would be. If there was a chance to place James’ son on the throne as the new king of the Hellan Kingdom, Hugo and Raghnall were willing to work with him.
Afterall, Erza’s children were still part of their family. As long as the bloodline of the Aoife Clan could become King, waiting a few days was a small price to pay for Hugo and Raghnall. Also, they were wary of the unknown Organization working in the shadows.
There was truth in James’ words, and this was one of Hugo’s main worries. He also thought that, even if the Hellan Kingdom fell, their Dynasty, and the Aenasha Dynasty, would return home with nothing.
‘I hate it when that bastard is right,’ Hugo cursed as he sat on the couch to rest his old and weary body. The retired strategist knew that if they really were to force a siege against the Fortress, they would suffer many casualties on their side.
He also didn’t want to break all ties with James because that was the promise he had made to his daughter.
‘Fine. Let’s wait and see for now.’ Hugo stared at the ceiling of his tent. ‘It still won’t be too late to act after seven days.’
—–
William looked at the beautiful Goddess in front of him with a smile on his face. His eyes glowed with power as his Incubus Class reached its Max Level.
Because his powers had been unsealed before his battle with Carter. This allowed Eros, the Goddess of Lust, to teach William how to utilize his newfound powers to their full potential.
Just like the Special Domains that Issei and Lily used to train William, Eros had also taken him to her own Domain to be trained. Three months inside the Domain was equivalent to three days in Hestia. Aside from training William to resist her charms, Eros also taught him how to wield his demonic powers.
The Incubus Job Class allowed William to make and control illusions, enter a person’s dream, drain the life force of others, and also a very rare ability that had a chance to copy a person’s special skill through love making.
This copying skill was the skill he gained after absorbing the blood of the Goddess. Even among the Incubi that existed in the multiverse, only a handful had this ability. These were the people that had been personally blessed by Eros to become her champions.
Being an Incubus wouldn’t be complete without the power of seduction. Naturally, William also gained an ability that was similar to Charm. This skill was called “Kiss of Seduction”. However, since he was still a Pseudo-Incubus, he was unable to use this skill.
Unlike the other Job Classes that he acquired, the Incubus Job Class didn’t have any advanced classes.
William didn’t mind because he didn’t have any intention to take the Incubus Class to a higher stage. For him, being an Incubus was no different from being a full-fledged womanizer. Belle had told him that she would only allow him to have nine wives. Since that was the case, the incubus Job Class wasn’t a good option for him to explore.
Still, this class also came with many benefits. It allowed William to gain access to the Dual Cultivation Skill, which allowed him, and his lovers, to gradually become stronger after they cultivated together.
It also gave him a +100 Enhancement Bonus to all stats while the Incubus Job Class was equipped.
Being an Incubus didn’t give him immunity to Eros’ Charm Skill. However, William was still able to resist it to a certain extent. For Eros, this was already good enough because even Gods would have a hard time resisting her Divinity if she unleashed her full powers.
“Well then, this will be the end of your training, Little Will,” Eros smiled as she patted the boy’s head. “Make sure to keep your promise, okay?”
“Thank you, Your Excellency,” William replied respectfully. “I will keep my promise.”
“Good. It’s quite unfortunate that you can’t be my follower because you already have Gavin. Even so, make sure to visit my Temple after you’ve come of age. If you don’t do that, you’ll be sorry~”
“I will keep my promise, Your Excellency.”
Eros was quite satisfied with William’s character. Because of this, she wished that her daughters would pick him to become their lover in the future. Truth be told, Eros didn’t train William just because her daughters took a liking to him.
The Goddess of Lust wasn’t that generous. All the Incubi and Succubi in existence were handpicked by her personally. She wouldn’t bestow her powers on just any random passerby. Even if William was favored by four Gods, that wasn’t enough for Eros to make her move.
If not for the direct order she had received from the most “Ancient” Primordial Goddess, she wouldn’t have a reason to get in touch with the boy.
The order of the Primordial Goddess was simple.
Turn William to a Pseudo-Incubus and train him to resist Charm and Mind Affecting Spells.
Because of this order, Eros’ interest in the boy was piqued. Since her daughters already had him in their sights, the Goddess of Lust thought that it would also be a good opportunity to get to know the Half-Elf.
However, after training William for three months, she finally understood what kind of boy he was. Eros had a nagging feeling that William would bully her daughters in the not so distant future. Because of this, she made William promise her something, and the boy agreed to it.
After exiting the Domain, Eros suddenly remembered the promise that she had made with the God of Contracts, Sancus.
“William. Are you familiar with the God of Contracts?” Eros asked.
“No,” William replied. “However, I always ask him to preside over the contracts that I make in my world.”
Eros nodded her head as she looked in the distance. She immediately felt Sancus’ presence right after she had left her Domain. It seemed that the God of Contracts was very anxious to meet with William before he reunited with Issei, Lily, and David.
“Wait here for a while,” Eros said. “It seems that the God of Contracts wants to meet with you.”
Eros didn’t wait for William’s reply before she disappeared from where she stood. She reappeared a few seconds later in front of her palace and faced Sancus who was standing outside the gates.
The Goddess of Lust waved her hand and the gates opened wide to allow Sancus to enter.
“Remember, you are not allowed to harm him in any way,” Eros warned. “If you do something funny, you will definitely regret it.”
Sancus smiled and nodded his head. “I won’t harm him. I just want to talk.”
“Fifteen minutes. I’ll only give you fifteen minutes.”
“Thank you.”
Eros moved aside and allowed Sancus to enter her palace. Although she was curious about what Sancus wanted to tell William, the God of Contracts wanted a private meeting.
Since Incubi and Succubi also used contracts to bind the oaths of mortals, Sancus was a business partner that she had to get along with. This was why she respected his request and allowed him to meet William.
Also, it was a good opportunity to have Sancus owe her a favor. Since the God of Contracts had already promised not to hurt William, Eros had no reasons to prevent him from seeing the boy.
The Goddess that was seated on the black throne frowned, but she didn’t make any moves to intervene. Even though she was an Ancient Primordial Goddess, there were certain rules that she had to adhere to in order to keep the peace within the Temple of the Ten Thousand Gods.
‘This is just a minor issue,’ The Goddess thought as she continued to observe Wlliam from afar. ‘This will not affect the bigger picture.’
The Primordial Goddess only cared about the result and not the process. As long as William’s current course didn’t change, having a few bumps along the way could still be tolerated.