The next day, Daneel woke up with a jolt due to the nightmare he had had of Lanthanor burning to the ground.
It seemed that all the stress of the situation was getting to him, as it felt that it had been many days since he had had a proper night's sleep.
Going to the bathroom to freshen himself up, he cupped some water in his hand to wash his face before idly asking the system to repeat any notifications that might have come in the night. This had become a common ritual due to the many times when he had missed notifications due to not being conscious when the system sounded them in his mind.
As per his order, the only new notification replayed, making Daneel freeze and drop the water he had cupped.
[Kingdom Management Statistics updated.
Satisfaction Level: 18%
Dissatisfaction Level: 40%
Next milestone for reward: 20% Satisfaction Level. Reward: 10,000 EXP]
Yes! What he had been waiting for for months had finally happened!
Daneel couldn't help but gape hearing that there was a 2% increase in satisfaction and a 3% decrease in dissatisfaction out of the blue.
Each time he had started a new initiative such as enabling his mother to help whomever she wanted or setting up the school or healer academy, he had hoped that it would have a direct impact on the statistics.
Although he hadn't seen any change even though over a month had passed, Daneel had just been thinking that it needed time.
Now, seeing that there was such a large jump, Daneel asked the system, "Why is there such a big change? Is it possible to know what contributed to it?"
[Kingdom Management Analysis Tool, which can give the best answer to host's query, is currently locked. As per Phenomena Analysis Module, the change can be attributed to a cumulative shift in the people's psyche that was hastened due to the news of the bravery of the King.]
Hearing the answer, Daneel couldn't help but smile wide.
His ploy to willingly let himself be attacked had indeed worked out very well.
Studying this entire situation, Daneel reaffirmed one thing in his mind: shock and awe was really one of the most formidable weapons one could use to bring change in the general public.
This weapon had already showcased its power both during the time when he had taken the throne and the Grand Debate when favor had swung towards Eldra.
Yet, the real lesson that Daneel knew he had to understand from the situation was that long-term plans with a touch of shock and awe was the best way to go.
After all, he knew very well that just shock and awe would at most result in a temporary change, which could be overturned if someone else used the weapon well in his stead.
Instead, if the change in perception was accompanied by long-term initiatives such as the school or the healer academy, the effect of solidifying foundations would occur which would decrease the chances of sudden changes in case desperate situations did arise.
Desperate situations such as a continental war that might force him to conscript soldiers against their will.
Stopping his thoughts from going down this road, Daneel proceeded to wash himself before donning silk pajamas that he had found very comfortable to wear, especially when all he was doing all day was lying on the bed and listening to reports.
Yet, just as he was about to plop onto the bed after checking that there was no news, an urgent knock sounded on his door.
At the same time, Luther's frantic voice appeared through the oathstone, making Daneel run back to the wardrobe in order to change his clothes.
"My Lord, an army 50,000 strong is marching on us from our east."
.....
East of Lanthanor, in an army camp freshly set up on a grassy plain.
"No changes yet?"
A tall, bald man with dark skin and twin combat axes on his back sat on a chair in the center of the tent. He was wearing light plate armor that looked like it had been molded as one piece, making it so that there were no places that could restrict his movement.
"None, sir. All those we contacted to cause chaos have been captured."
Hearing the answer to his question from the messenger standing at the entrance of the tent, the man grimaced coldly before gesturing at him to leave.
In front of him sat a man with a calm and collected expression on his face, while his long, black ponytail hung from his head to the small of his back.
"It must be that Grand Court Mage and those three commanders. They must be taking care of everything while hoping that the King would recover."
It was the Sect Master of the Withering Leaf Sect, who did not look at all like the man who had previously collapsed due to seeing his elders killed right in front of his eyes.
The only remnant of that pain hid deep in his eyes, as if it was waiting to jump out and devour everything it wanted when it got the chance.
At the words of the Sect Master, the bald man shook his head before asking the question whose answer had led to this expedition setting out in the first place.
"Are you sure that it was a potent enough attack that will certainly cause the King of Lanthanor to either die or be bedridden for years?"
"Yes. I have personally seen its power. Unless one manages to reach the Exalted Human level as a fighter, it is impossible to even think of surviving the blow. If that is true, I'm willing to jump into the Endless Sea to drown forever."
This last phrase was something often used in Angaria. It came from a myth that long ago, a peak Warrior Level Fighter had wanted to find out exactly how deep the Endless Ocean surrounding the Angarian Continent was.
He had set out with a communication trinket that transmitted his thoughts to those on a boat on the surface, diving deep inside without being afraid of running out of breath anytime soon due to his formidable body that was just one step away from breaking through to the Champion Level.
After reaching around 5 km in depth, the signal from the trinket had started to cut off.
He never surfaced, and the last thing heard from him was one line:
"Drowning… forever"
Hearing the Sect Master's words, the man nodded before saying, "As discussed, Axelor shall take 70% of the spoils, and we expect your Sect to use its full force."
With a small smile, the Sect Master replied, "No problem. Axelor mustn't hold back either."
At this, the bald man's eyes burned with a fury that seemed to have been suppressed for a long time.
Taking a few moments to control himself, he said, "You can rest assured that we won't."
As the memories of having to turn back and run to his home with his tails tucked between his legs resurfaced in the man's mind, he resisted the urge to smash everything in his grasp to relieve his rage.
For months since the incident, he had been mocked and humiliated ruthlessly by his fellow commanders for running away due to just a few words from a kid a quarter of his age.
Now, it was finally time to wipe away that humiliation.
....
In the same area, in a tent nearby.
The Eldest Prince sat with his legs folded on the ground while caressing a Ker Gem in his hands. As the powerful Energy entered his body, his left chest, where his heart was supposed to be, seemed to be trying to tear out of his clothes in order to devour the Ker Gem whole.
"ARGH!"
With a wretched expression, he stopped his meditation and threw the Ker Gem aside, causing it to roll on the ground before coming to a stop due to someone placing a foot on it.
Feeling a threat behind him, the Eldest Prince hastily got up before rushing to the edge of the tent after conjuring a barrier around him.
Along with the barrier, 10 talons came into existence all around his body.
These red talons faintly shimmered in the air, as if they weren't actually solid, while the air around them seemed distorted due to the high heat they were emitting.
If Daneel were here, he would definitely be shocked to see that this was actually a famous Eminent Warrior Level spell known as "Fire Talons".
The compressed fire was in fact so disastrous to a human body that a single blow was enough to cause death to even a typical Exalted Human Fighter.
After seeing this, Daneel would have turned around and been even more shocked to see the man who had once almost killed him.
It was the Vice Sect Master of the Withering Leaf Sect, who also had a bulge on his chest, as if something were trying to break out from his clothes to reach the Ker Gem at his feet.