Meanwhile, in the Royal Palace of Axelor.
King Safiros currently had a livid expression on his face. All the crazy joy that had been there when he had witnessed the gruesome massacre of hundreds of his citizens was absent, replaced by an expression that made him look as if he was seeing something that irked him to no end.
In his hand was a display trinket, which was showing the image of another display trinket in a house where a replay of the continent's most talked-about show, 'Mercy for the Wicked' was being played.
The reel had been cut in such a way that the emphasis was always on the King of Lanthanor. From the beginning, where he had assured the people that everything was alright, to the end where he looked like a God while he stopped the attack of someone whose power level was legendary in the Central Continent, his face, his posture, and his voice were given so much focus that it would be difficult to forget any of them even long after the show was over.
And who would want to forget them? Each of those things stood for a certain level of gravitas that was admired endlessly by all, no matter if they were honest manual workers or rich merchants.
While the King continued watching while his expression got more and more ugly, his Minister, who was standing in front of him in the Throne Room, said, "This show has spread to even those people who didn't receive the display trinket. Most had gathered with those who did have the trinket and were watching. As for the rest, some people have started charging money to hold special shows where they give access to the so-called 'Network Trinket', or, in short, N.T. There is also talk that mass production of N.Ts has begun, and that they will be launched for all to buy, soon. There are also certain rumors about how some people have managed to obtain the technology to broadcast to these N.Ts, and that they are in the process of creating the trinkets needed. As for the effects of the show…"
"THIS POMPOUS RUNT!"
Interrupting his minister, the King suddenly stood up and threw the display trinket in one direction, causing it to crash onto the wall and fall to the ground.
The Minister remained silent, with his only hope being that this anger wouldn't turn into another purge.
Thankfully, instead of ordering something like that right away, King Safiros started marching from left to right on the raised pedestal on which the Throne was present.
He also started grumbling under his breath, which was audible to the Minister.
"Don't they see what he's doing? He wants to sway the continent's people to support him so that he can conquer them all! He already has 4 Kingdoms in his grasp! It's just me and that bitch in Arafell who's left! What the f*ck are the Big 4 doing?!"
The King kept repeating stuff like this, until, finally, he whipped out a communication trinket from a secret pocket in his robes.
This was a special trinket that was always on his body, no matter where he was. That was because it was that important.
"My King, they said…!"
"Screw what they said. Hey, I need to speak with you. Get over here."
Crack!
The next second, the sound of something being broken into was heard, after which the Minister turned to the side and realized that he wasn't alone.
This man was wearing green-colored robes which fit him perfectly, and he had a trimmed, short beard that gave him the look of some stately advisor. His clothes were old school: he had a tassel around his neck, which was draped on one arm of his that was held aloft.
Right after he appeared, he had a suspicious expression on his face, as he looked around as if he had sensed something strange and wanted to find out what it was.
"Hmm…could have sworn I felt something at the Hero-level here…"
"Who're you? You're not the one…"
"Quiet."
The moment he said that word, the King shut his mouth, going so far as to even bite his own tongue in the process as it hadn't gone back into his mouth fast enough.
Blood was visible on his teeth, which were being held together rigidly as if someone had their hands around his head and was making sure that he wouldn't open his mouth.
The Minister could tell that this was done by this bearded man, but what he couldn't figure out was…how?
His elementary vision had been switched on, yet, he hadn't noticed any attempts at controlling elementary particles.
What was going on?!
After a few moments, the man finally shook his head, as if dispelling some thought of his.
"All right. Speak. Why have you contacted the Big 4, King of Axelor? Take caution in what you say. There is somewhere I need to be, right now, so my patience wears thin."
Coughing uncontrollably, King Safiros spit out a portion of his own tongue with fury in his eyes before he forcefully controlled his anger and said, "The King of Lanthanor directly or indirectly controls 4 of the 6 forces in the Central Continent. He has already allied with one of them. Why aren't you doing anything to stop him?"
Yawning, the man said, "Because we are keeping a close eye on his Mages. They are crippled. And we know of your plan to target Lanthanor as soon as it's weak. Even though we explicitly stated that methods of great bloodshed should be avoided."
This made the King narrow his eyebrows and take a moment before replying.
Yet, cutting him off, the bearded man said, "We have an eye over all 6 forces. At the first sign of a unified alliance forming, we will interfere. Right now, that alliance is still only as powerful as you and Arafell. As for the other links: those are fine unless the King of Lanthanor brazenly uses them in some way. Now, then. I hope you've learned your lesson that you shouldn't call upon us unless you have something important to discuss. Next time, it won't just be your tongue that gets…cut off."
Saying so, the bearded man left in the same manner that he had arrived.
Silence greeted the Throne Room, while the Minister waited for another angry outburst from the King.
Only, surprisingly, the King burst out laughing with that blood still staining his teeth.
"Fool. Couldn't even detect the Hero-level formation around my Kingdom. Just you wait. The moment I assemble the Grand Inheritance, it's your head I'll be coming for, first. Well, at least, now I know that these guys are all clueless about the real deal that will dictate the fate of this continent."
"My King, what do you mean?", asked the Minister, thoroughly puzzled.
"My dear Minister, you know that we only recently put up the Hero-level formations after breaking the second seal using a few…unique methods. I wanted to know if he can sense it. If he could, I would have disabled it. And it was best if he had no reason to suspect the reason behind my anger and me calling him. He glanced at the display trinket, and inferred what I must have been watching. And…he didn't detect the parts of the Grand Inheritance that are waiting to be snatched up, either. After all, it is best to know whether there are any additional contenders I can worry about in the Race. Now, if only that b*tch in Arafell took the bait…"
As the Minister saw the King sink into deep thought, he remained silent, with his arms folded behind his back.
He had to admit that the King had surprised him: until now, he had only been thinking that the man was mad. Yet, it now looked like there was a method to his madness.
Still, when he heard what the King said next, he couldn't help but rub his ears, wondering whether he was the one that had gone crazy.
"Minister, when were the last War Games in Angaria conducted, and why?"
The Minister had to spend a few moments to recall the history of the continent, after which he replied, "Around 375 years ago, My King, when the Kingdoms were on better terms. At that time, a very valuable Ether Mine had been discovered at a spot that wasn't under the authority of any of the Kingdoms. As all 6 forces were in a state of equilibrium at that point, a major war was brewing, and it was suggested by the late King of Axelor that War Games, where tactics and skills of armies would be tested on a massive field with differing scenarios, should be conducted to come to a decision regarding the matter. As this was a method without bloodshed, the War Games were conducted, with Axelor achieving victory due to the superior discipline of our soldiers. This was a private event, with no spectators. Only, the Big 4 later lay claim to the Ether mine, as there was a Ker Gem Mine hidden underneath it. We won glory, but we did not win what we wanted. In fact, the other Kingdoms even gloated on seeing our plight, as we had no option but to let the Big 4 take away our 'winnings'."
As the Minister rattled off this significant moment in history, the King took a moment and said, "We do know that runt likes to put on a show. Propose an event like that, with the reason being that we should sharpen our forces before the invasion so that we can identify any weaknesses."
"B-but why, My King?"
This question made the King stand up and spit out a mouthful of blood, before saying, "To cause a distraction- the biggest distraction possible, while I go to the Core of his Palace to get the part of the Grand Inheritance that is stored there. And if it isn't present…I'll have found out that he, too, is in the race. Send the message, and send a healer."
Giving this order, the King walked away to his chambers.
Finding himself alone in the Throne Room, the Minister looked at the Throne, wondering how this glorious Kingdom of his had reached this state.
Sighing, he left to send the official message.
…
Meanwhile, in the Kingdom of Lanthanor, Daneel was in a room along with Eloise and various officials that she had called together.
The plans for the train were laid out on the large table in the middle, while a discussion was raging on regarding what the best method of implementation was.
He recalled the rest of his conversation with Faxul, where his friend had agreed and had subsequently been given the spell to delve into the memories of the Ancient Black Raven.
Daneel knew that it was a risky endeavor, but he had no choice but to ask it of Faxul. Axelor was sealed off just a bit too tightly. Now, with the Hero-level formations, not even a fly could enter that Kingdom without the knowledge of the King.
That was when he received an urgent message from Kellor, who relayed the communication that had just been received by Axelor.
Daneel had to ask Kellor to resend it twice, as he couldn't believe his ears.
War Games? Seriously?
He had already known of this significant event in history, as he had researched about all previous events when setting up the Olympics. Yet, he hadn't tried something like that, as no Kingdom would arbitrarily agree to expose their army tactics in that way if there was nothing to be gained except honor.
Yet, now, the King of Axelor was proposing one, by himself?
Was he crazy?
Oh, yes. How could he have known that Daneel had just come under the possession of various army tactics from the Empire, itself?
At the same moment, Daneel also started to think whether he could use this opportunity to accomplish something else.
As his eyes took on a dangerous light, he called for an emergency meeting of all army-related top personnel in the Kingdom of Lanthanor.