Chapter 390
In the Black Raven Kingdom and the Kingdom of the Elves, a very important meeting was taking place right now .
A display trinket had been set up in both of the Royal Courts, and almost all ministers were in attendance .
Both rulers of both kingdoms were sitting at alert, waiting for the stipulated time to come so that the display trinket with switch on .
There was also a communication eye floating above the display trinket set up in the middle of the royal courts, which was focused on the respective thrones .
When the clock struck sharp 12 PM, all of the people in both courts tensed, as it was time .
However, while the seconds ticked by, there was no change in the display .
"He's late . "
"The audacity!"
"How dare he make our honorable ruler wait?"
Statements like these could be heard in both royal courts, while the rulers just waited, hoping that the person they were going to talk to wouldn't take it too far .
King Faxul was wearing black robes emblazoned with black ravens all over it, which was the standard attire for the Kings of the Black Raven Kingdom .
Queen Eldra, on the other hand, was wearing a beautiful green dress with a high collar .
King Faxul seemed more at ease, but Queen Eldra had a very impatient expression on her face .
As the display trinket finally flickered and showed an image at around 12: 10 PM, a confident voice could be heard in both royal courts .
"My bad! I'm new to this whole thing of sticking to a schedule, you know . Usually, I just do whatever I want, whenever I want . I hope you two young rulers understand . "
After the image became clear, over 150 people focused their eyes on the image of a man who was lazily sitting on a very exquisite wooden chair .
Beside him was a window which showed a fascinating scenery, and there was also a desk in front of him on which numerous data trinkets could be seen .
"That's fine –"
"You better not –"
The first reply was from King Faxul, while the second was spoken in an angry tone by the Queen of the Elves .
Realizing that they had spoken at the same time and interrupted each other, both of them fell silent which made the man in the display trinket chuckle .
He had long, wavy brown hair which was slicked back naturally .
With sharp features, he was quite handsome, and the permanent smug look on his face made others understand just how self-confident he was .
He was wearing a fur vest on top of a casual black shirt, and if it weren't for the fact that this vest was embroidered with many mythical creatures on the front with a Basilisk holding prominence, he might have looked like someone who had wandered into the seat .
"We don't have time to waste, so let's get to the matter at hand . Is the King of Axelor responsible for all the assassinations that happened in both of our kingdoms?"
Hearing this direct question from the Queen of the Elves, the man smiled slyly .
"I did say I am new to this, but I'm not foolish enough to break the rules on my first day as sect master . The rules clearly say that I cannot officially announce who gave the contracts . By the way, just for curiosity's sake, can I ask why you two suspect Axelor so suddenly? Aren't you marching towards me right now to take revenge, even though you profited heavily from those assassinations?"
This made both rulers hesitate for a bit, as if they were deciding on which answer to give .
Finally, it was the Black Raven King who spoke first .
"What's there to be shy about? All of us have spies in all kingdoms in the Central Continent . Both of our spies have notified us that your top assassins said that Axelor is the one behind the assassinations and the sticky situation that you find yourself in right now . If I remember correctly, the exact words used were, '[email protected]@k those opportunistic asswipes from Axelor! Oh, I can't say it officially, but I'm pretty sure it's them . How the [email protected]@k did they find out about the rule which says that we need to accept a minimum number of contracts no matter what situation we're in? I can't believe that they just so happened to be so lucky as to give those contracts just when that rule was invoked . [email protected]@k them!' Am I right?"
This made the man laugh loudly while clapping, while all the ministers in both kingdoms took note of his frank and direct personality, which stood in sharp contrast to the solemnity of the two rulers .
"Exactly . That's what my man said . But I still don't see why we are having this meeting . All that you told me was that you needed to have an audience with me . So, although this has been very fun, I would love to get back to getting used to my duties . Unless… You have any more questions?"
It seemed that the patience of the Queen of the Elves had reached the limit, as she banged on the armrests of the throne and stood up with anger, saying, "Don't act dumb! We called this meeting because we want to know whether it was Axelor . Both of us aren't foolish enough to target you if you're just a hired knife . We are marching towards you because of the possibility that your sect carried out those assassinations for some ulterior motive, without receiving any contract . But if there is even a possibility that it was Axelor, then we have no intention of wasting resources on you . Just admit it, for your own good . "
Hearing this, an angry expression came on the face of the new sect leader of the Hidden Kill Sect .
He didn't stand up in anger like Queen Eldra, but many of those who were looking at the display trinket felt their spines stiffen with fear, as if they would die if this man just flicked his finger even though they were separated by hundreds of kilometers of distance .
It was like there was a faint pressure pressing down on them, almost making them want to bow and beg for forgiveness for antagonizing this man .
This effect seemed to be more prevalent on those who hadn't trained to high levels, and it was almost negligible on the two rulers who were both Exalted Humans .
"Look . I already said that I cannot officially admit anything without breaking the rules and dying due to the oath I have sworn . I don't have a say in what my top assassins think on their own . I can admonish them for speaking out of turn, but I understand their frustration . Still, there is no way that I can come out and say by myself that Axelor is responsible for killing those pieces of scum in your kingdoms . Believe me, I would love to do it . Hell, if I weren't the sect leader, maybe I would have been saying the same in even stronger language . Anyway, this meeting is over . Come in . "
Pin drop silence fell over both royal courts, as everyone watched the new sect leader sit back in his chair while grumbling to himself .
"Stupid dumbass queens and kings calling for sudden meetings and wasting my time . "
The sect leader was acting as though his communication eye was off, and because there was only silence on the other end, there was no indication that two kingdoms were still listening to him .
The last two words had apparently been said to someone at the door, as a reptilian appeared in the frame of the display trinket and handed over another data trinket .
Touching it and going through it, the sect leader frowned even further and said, "Those wily bastards stepped up their movements?! How the hell do those two Kingdoms not know that there is an entire army in between them? If I were the King of Axelor, I would just use this opportunity to backstab both of those armies and weaken them both in the process . Dammit, I can't believe their stupid plan of putting even more pressure on the sect to make it cave is working . "
All this time, the sect leader had been staring to his left, out the window . It was also the direction from which the reptilian had come .
Suddenly, in the process of angrily speaking cursing Axelor, he looked at the communication eye which was floating in the air .
He froze, and an expression of extreme shock appeared on his face .
His eyes widened completely, and his eyebrows rose up so high that they had nowhere else to go on his forehead .
After a moment during which all three leaders looked at each other with stunned expressions on their faces, the new sect leader screamed, "Is that damn thing on? TURN IT OFF, TURN IT OFF, TURN IT OFF! DAMMIT, I TOLD YOU I FORGET THINGS LIKE THESE! YOU IDI-"
The transmission cut off mid-screen, but everyone watching the display trinkets kept staring even though the image had faded to nothingness .
They couldn't believe what had just happened, and some of the ministers pinched themselves, wondering whether they were dreaming .
Meanwhile, in the private chamber of the sect leader of the hidden kill sect, the reptilian had already been driven out in anger .
After the door closed, Daneel sat back in his chair, trying to control himself from laughing out loud .
"Wow, Daneel . When the hell did you become such a good actor?"
As he heard this message from Faxul, he couldn't help it more .
Bursting out, he merrily laughed for a few seconds before replying, "Did they buy it?"
"Of course . Even I bought it . You're getting scarier by the day, by the way . I'll talk to you later, I'm still in court . And I'll also be expecting acting lessons from you later on . Bye . "
Hearing the reply, Daneel kept smiling to himself and walked to the window .
Looking out over Angaria, a single thought appeared in his mind .
He really, really wished he could see the expression on the King of Axelor's face right now .